HOW I GOT HERE
by LADARTHA
Summary: Tragedy struck into the lives of Edward Cullen, beloved actor, and his family; his wife, Bella, and his two sons. That tragedy has forced a separation between all of them. He does see his sons who stay with his parents, but, stays aloof from his wife as he blames himself for what happened as does her family. He prays for the day when they call can reunited once more, but, when.
1. Chapter 1

**HOW I GOT HERE**

 **Disclaimer: The Cullen's, the Swans, and most of the characters mentioned in the story that are known from Stephanie Meyer's beloved Twilight Saga, are all hers and hers alone. I neither have nor wish to pass them off as mine. I do appreciate the fact that she did bring them to life and allows us to play with them in our imaginations. The only thing I will claim is the current storyline.**

 **The awesome and talented dowlingnana searched out my errors and corrected them.**

 **CHAPTER 1: PROLOGUE**

I'm sitting just like everyone else waiting to see who is going to get the acknowledgment of a job well done by winning the OSCAR and who is going to walk away with nothing more than the fact they had been nominated for the statue that is handed out in each category. Of course, others are here tonight to offer support to a friend or cast member while others that are lesser well known as yet are just wanting to be seen with the legends of Hollywood.

And, I guess you could in a sense call me one of the legends at this point in my career. I'M EDWARD CULLEN and I'm still much sought after, a name as they say to be reckoned with in the industry, and I stay busy as hell. I have to, or, I'll lose my mind in a hurry. There's no way that I can stay still for long and allow my nightmares to catch up with me; to allow my thoughts take first place in my mind; to allow myself time to give up. If I do that then I'll be no use to anyone, our two sons or her.

If I slow down or stop the blame of what happened will drag me down and swallow me whole. And, chances are that I won't be able to survive that. So, I keep working, stay busy and pray for a day that I'll be able to see her once more. That my family can be whole once more. I also pray for forgiveness from her family who lets me know that I'm to blame and from mine who tries every way possible to let me know that I'm innocent. But, if I'm innocent, why are we all messed up now?

In my career I've received one Oscar, but, have been nominated many times for the various areas of the industry. But, this is the first time that I've been nominated for best director as well as all of the other categories that is open for an actor.

They are getting ready to reveal the winner of Best Actor, but, I don't really pay any attention to the words. Even if I did become the winner it would be an empty victory since my beloved isn't here to share it. She's the one that has always kept me on track and stable.

Suddenly the applause and everyone starting to rise lets me know the winner has been announced so I stand and start looking around to see who was receiving the award since my mind wasn't listening. Someone comes up to me and offers to escort me up to the stage and i look at them with the question, "Why" coming out of my mouth. They smile and indicate that everyone is waiting for me.

Shit! I guess that means I've won and now I have to stand in front of all of these people and utter words that really have no meaning to me. No meaning since she isn't here.

 **A/N: What is going on that Edward carries the guilt of blame? Who is 'she'? And why does her family blame him for whatever happened?**

 **Hope you'll join me in this new story as we learn what has brought Edward to this point and where he may go from this point.**

 **All thoughts and reviews are always welcome. Thanks for reading.**


	2. Chapter 2

**HOW I GOT HERE**

 **Disclaimer: The Cullen's, the Swans, and most of the characters mentioned in the story that are known from Stephanie Meyer's beloved Twilight Saga, are all hers and hers alone. I neither have nor wish to pass them off as mine. I do appreciate the fact that she did bring them to life and allows us to play with them in our imaginations. The only thing I will claim is the current storyline.**

 **The awesome and talented dowlingnana searched out my errors and corrected them.**

 _Shit! I guess that means I've won and now I have to stand in front of all of these people and utter words that really have no meaning to me. No meaning since she isn't here._

 **CHAPTER 2: THE FIRST ENCOUNTER**

"I'm so glad that you decided you wanted to do this film. The script was written by a newcomer, more or less, to our business. This is-"

"What a minute. You said the writer is new to the industry? The story doesn't read that way."

"Well….I did say more or less, if you remember. The writer is a screenwriter and has worked more on doing reversions on different scripts from time to time and has also been connected more with the small screen and different series in that area of the business than with the big screen.

"But, now has presented a script, it was accepted and now the studio is gathering everyone to get it done."

"The story is an exciting one and I'm most anxious to meet the man that wrote it."

At this point in the conversation the two men reached the conference room door and was about to open it when it was suddenly jerked open from the other side by a young woman. She stood frozen in place the same as the two men as each were in utter surprise from what happened.

Steven Lance, Edward's manager, was the first one of the three that showed any signs of returning to normal. The young woman was still frozen and was staring at one of her favorite actors. The facts of how well honed his body appeared to be with the form fitting suit he was wearing and that his eyes were indeed the most indescribable green she had ever seen were registering unconsciously even though she was still in a shocked state due to the sudden appearance of two people standing on the other side of the door that she had just opened and intended to pass through.

And Edward wasn't showing any signs of being released from his shocked state and was also unconsciously registering the appearance of the beauty that stood before him that was small in frame with a waist that he could wrap an arm around with no problems, long, deeply rich reddish brown hair falling down her back and in front she had breasts that weren't overly large, but, would completely fill just the right size hand. However, what held his attention the most was the fact that he was looking into a set of the most soul revealing chocolate brown eyes he had ever seen; not dull as most brown eyes appear to be, but, vibrate with life, compassion and caring. They seemed to allow the viewer to see the total innocence of the further reaches of her soul.

Feeling a nudge from his side Edward was coming around, looked over at Steven with a frown and a raised eyebrow in query of what he wanted. But, without saying anything to Steven in front of the woman still standing in the doorway and blocking anyone from entering Edward turned back to look directly at her with his famous cocky smile. And with the appearance of his smile the woman's eyes moved down from Edward's eyes to his mouth to see the smile that he flashed at her.

It was that action that finally broke her frozen state and brought a quick blush to her cheeks. She drew a deep breath before asking to be excused for blocking the path. With that said she moved to one side for the two men to enter the room and once they were out of the way after entering she made a hasty retreat out the door and down the hallway.

Edward had been in the process of turning to speak to her, but, never got the chance due to her being so quick to move and then disappearing from sight down the hallway. With a shake of his head he turned back to the others collected in the conference room and greeted them while he moved to take a seat near the head of the table. But, as he took the seat that had been indicated to him by the person standing at the head of the table he noticed that one seat was empty as everyone else had taken a seat the same as he.

Turning to the man standing at the head of the table Edward asked, "Is everyone here?"

"All, but, one, however, I think the important ones of you are, so, we can go ahead and get started."

"Whose missing?"

"Our writer, the one that wrote the script, but, she isn't needed for us to begin rehearsals. Also, none of the agents are needed as well, so, ladies and gentlemen if you will get your asses out of here we can then begin." The one man that seemed to be in charge commented.

"You could watch your mouth a bit when talking to a woman, Clarence." Edward admonished the person in charge.

"I could, if I felt so inclined which I don't, but, I haven't a clue why any of them thought it was necessary to be here today which they haven't been in the past for the beginning of a client's starting a new film." He observed to no one in particular.

But, Steven was the one to immediately speak up, "Because none of the contracts have been signed as yet and that's what we were under the impression would be happening today; not a beginning rehearsal." That information brought the one in charge up to a halt.

With a look around to the face of each person present his shocked face started to turn a shade of red to move on towards the purple of anger. "Do you mean that none of you have signed any contracts as yet for this project?" He demanded.

"That is correct. That's why all of the agents are here with their client, you damn fool. This was the conference room we all seemed to have been asked to wait while discussions and such are sorted out in another conference area.

"It's beyond me why it's being handle in this fashion, but, I'm sure there has to be some quacked out explanation from someone somewhere along the line that will shed some light upon the reasoning." Steven finished delivering his grudgingly given comments.

But it didn't take any further comments from the other agents waiting or wanting to tear a strip off of him for the man to march towards the door, open it throwing it back hard enough it bounced off of the wall with a resounding noise and to disappear out of sight heading in the direction of the main offices.

"Well, I guess that took the wind out of his sails for now. But, you're right, Steven, it is most unusual for contract discussions to be handled in this fashion, especially with the stars of the project." One of the other agents did remark.

"I was wondering why a director was here when nothing had been completely settled." Voiced the supposed female lead of the movie, Kathrine Denali.

Edward wasn't pleased to be joined in the same project as she, but, he had little choice since he wanted very badly to do this movie, so, he figured he might as well bite the bullet long enough to tolerate her for the extent of this project. The plotline and the characters intrigued him enough that he desired to be one of the people to give it life upon the big screen for all to see. For some reason he just had a deep gutted feeling about this project that he had never felt before. It was as if it called to him.

And, it was with that thought that his mind turned back to the beauty he had seen at the door way. He made a mental note to himself that he was going to find out who she was and as much as he could about her before leaving today. There was a burning desire to see her again and to get to know her on a more personal level. Although a bit different than what he felt about why he needed to do this project, it was still like the same deep down feeling and finding out all he could about her was burning deep in his gut. It spoke of somehow being vitality important to him.

And that desire surprised him, mentally, as well since it very seldom happened to him. Usually, it was the women that chased after him trying to get his attention for various reason, some he didn't want to mention, but, did enjoy the mental picture he had where he had enjoyed the catching. So, for him to have the desire to do the chasing in a manner of speaking was surprising.

Clarence Winston, the director who had marched out a few minutes earlier returned with a bit of a subdued attitude and offered his apologies to everyone present. It was then that Edward armed with his determination to gather information about his mysterious beauty moved to get closer to Clarence.

"Clarence, did you happen to see the incident that happened earlier at the door as I was about to enter the room?"

"Yeah, but, didn't pay too much attention to what was going on. You and Steve were coming in and Isabella was going out." He remarked in a way that spoke of giving it no importance.

Edward sensed that something was wrong as Clarence's attitude was changed, more subdued than what it had been, between the time he had stormed out and then returned. So, pulling the man further away from the ears of the others, he quietly asked, "Clarence, what's wrong?"

The director looked at Edward for a moment or so before answering and then he told him that he had been replaced as director by none other than Demetri Oliveri. Clarence told Edward that he had been looking forward to breathing life into this story, but, the higher ups thought that someone with more experience was needed, so, he was replaced; just like that. Edward did try to give him some comforting words, but, nothing seemed to be working, so, he quietly withdrew to have a few words with Steven.

Edward realized that it might only make matters worse if he tried to withdraw any information about the woman he now knew as Isabella from Clarence. So, he asked nothing from the man concerning the subject. Instead, Edward knew that he would need to gain his information from other sources and Steven could be of help in that direction.

Clarence Winston left the conference room as did others that were having negotiations about their contracts to be in this movie. It seemed that in no time at all the room was clearing at a rapid pace. Edward knew that someone had fallen down on the job as all of this was supposed to have been handled long before now and that person was Clarence Winston along with his staff.

Finally, the only ones left were the two leads and their agents: Edward and Steven as well as Kathrine Denali and her agent, Irina Howard. Edward knew they would be the last since their negotiations would be the two that would more than likely take the longest to conclude. But, while each of the others were being dealt with Kathrine had tried repeatedly to capture Edward's attention, but to no avail. She was starting to become quite vexed about the lack of him paying her court as she felt was her due from any man. And, Edward Cullen was a man, but, not just any man; he was Hollywood legend.

Unbeknownst to Edward Kathrine had observed the exchange that had occurred at the door as Edward had arrived and was intrigued as she had seen the look on his face as he had encountered the girl. So, not just Edward, but, Kathrine as well was going to make every effort to find out who the girl was and decided whether she would be competition for Edward's attention or not.

 **A/N: Edward and Bella meet, but, where she had a profound impact upon him one has to wonder what type of feelings she had towards him. Of course, as with all stories we have a determined female has only thoughts of what she can do to have her way. How successful will Edward be in tracking down the woman that captured his interest and enflamed his desire?**

 **All thoughts and reviews are always welcome. Thanks for reading.**


	3. Chapter 3

**HOW I GOT HERE**

 **Disclaimer: The Cullen's, the Swans, and most of the characters mentioned in the story that are known from Stephanie Meyer's beloved Twilight Saga, are all hers and hers alone. I neither have nor wish to pass them off as mine. I do appreciate the fact that she did bring them to life and allows us to play with them in our imaginations. The only thing I will claim is the current storyline.**

 **The awesome and talented dowlingnana searched out my errors and corrected them.**

 _Unbeknownst to Edward Kathrine had observed the exchange that had occurred at the door as Edward had arrived and was intrigued as she had seen the look on his face as he had encountered the girl. So, not just Edward, but, Kathrine as well was going to make every effort to find out who the girl was and decided whether she would be competition for Edward's attention or not._

 **CHAPTER 3: NEEDS SOME THOUGHT**

It didn't seem to matter to Kathrine that Edward couldn't stand her and was barely able to tolerate the fact that they would be making another movie together. He had sworn that no amount of money would ever put him in the same room, let alone in another film, with that bitch. And he was giving a second and third thought about signing the contract that, once it was signed, would put them together once more.

If it wasn't for the fact that he really wanted to do this role so badly, he would be walking out and refusing to even consider being near the harpy from hell once more. But, he felt that this lead, this one role, this character was calling to him, that he was the only one that could really do it justice; that no one else could understand or identify with what the character was wanting to say or convey.

Noticing that Edward was lost in his thoughts and not signing the contracts after everyone had agreed to what had been discussed before this meeting. The question was asked, "Edward, what seems to be the problem? You seem like you're having second thoughts about doing the project. What is causing you possible concerns or hesitation?"

Edward's mind was snapped back to the present and he looked around to see that everyone in the room was waiting to hear his answer. He considered giving an honest answer as to why he was rethinking signing, but, stayed silent. Instead he reached out once more for the pen and put his signature to the contract that was committing him to work with that unsatisfied whorish harpy once more.

Mentally he knew that he was going to have to take the time to prepare himself for being around her and to learn to exercise greater control of what he says around her or anyone else concerning her and her behavior. It wasn't something that he was very happy about, but, it was what would have to be done to be able to do this project; this project that he felt he had to do for some unexplainable reason. He knew from past experience that it wouldn't be easy because Kathrine was nothing more than a self-indulgent, spoilt, selfish bitch that was always demanding all of the attention and blaming others around her if she makes a mistake or doesn't get what she wants when she wants it.

Edward had gone through one relationship with a woman that was exactly like Kathrine Denali, but, in spite, of what everyone in his family was saying or advising, and because of their condemnation of her he made a big error in judgement. At first she was all sweetness and shy around him, so, he chose not to believe what he was being told. He took what he considered to be the necessary steps to try and prove them wrong by trying to force her on everyone when he took her to Vegas and they had gotten married. But, it didn't take long after that for the blindfold to fall from his eyes and for them to be opened as to what his family had been trying to tell him all along; she was demanding and only thought of herself. She made life miserable until she received the attention or object she had wanted. Within less than six months the marriage was over and Edward chalked that up to a lesson learnt the hard way as he divorced her.

Ever since that experience Edward has, more or less, played the field, but, never committing to any one woman. He never made a promise to any of his companions and was very open with them by telling them to not expect any more than what they were sharing at the moment.

That's why he was hesitant about doing this film with Kathrine and was having second thoughts about signing as he knew from past experience of working with her of what would be coming for everyone. But, as he finally reasoned, the only way he could do this film was to sign the contract and do everything in his power to avoid the bitch.

Oh, sure he could demand that the studio find another leading lady, but, then that would require for him to go into detail as to why he didn't want to work with Kathrine. That bit of information wasn't anyone's business, but, his. Of course his family was very much aware of all of the delicious details and knew that that event, plus, the ones where girls in his youth and women since then, both before he became a successful actor and especially, since then, have all led to the way of him being the playboy type of love 'em and leave 'em without a backward glance or concern, that he is now.

Steven had been watching his client, who he knew extremely well since he had represented Edward from the very beginning and had gotten him his first role in a movie. He had seen, although, very well hidden from others, the emotions that had played over Edward's features as he hesitated signing the contract. And, he thought he had a very good idea of what was bothering him, but, he decided it would be best to wait until they were alone before bringing the subject up. Because if it was what he thought was the problem he definitely didn't want to chance a scene in front of the studio heads.

After the contract had been signed Edward and Steven were on their way out to the parking lot, walking down a short hallway from the studio offices when Edward happened to catch sight of a young woman rushing into an office just ahead of them; it happened to be the very one that he wanted to get more information about. She intrigued him, but, he really couldn't say why. Just the fact remained that she did from the very first moment of their first look and then touch; the spark that had shot between the two of them was nothing that had ever happened to him before. And that was enough, if nothing else was, to cause him to seek answers; answers that could only be had from getting to know her better.

So, he moved towards the office doorway that he had witnessed her disappearing through, but, was met with a surprise that he hadn't taken into consideration: the office was larger than expected and held approximately twenty other people. Looking around, trying to locate the individual he sought and very quickly noticed that she wasn't within sight. He puzzled as to what could have happened to her as he didn't see any other exits from the office area.

It was at that moment that the typist seated nearest to the door looked up and saw the two men standing there as if they might be lost. She inquired as to how she might be of help and it was then that Edward asked about the only name he had been told that was connected to the young lady, "Is Isabella available by any chance?"

"Isabella?" the typist questioned with a slight, but, thoughtful frown upon her face. Then suddenly her face cleared and she answered, "Oh, you must mean Bella." She looked at Edward and Steven and it then that recognition dawn upon her that she was talking to Edward Cullen: THE EDWARD CULLEN.

"You have the wrong office; she doesn't work here, but, has her own office in the script and screen writers' location." The typist told them with a bit of a stutter due to her excitement of talking with her favorite male actor.

However, Edward wasn't quite ready to give it up just yet as he was sure that he had seen the woman he wanted enter this office, but, he couldn't see her or see another way out of the office area without having to pass him first. So, he persisted as he told the typist, "But, I just saw her come in here."

"That might be possible, Mr. Cullen, but, we don't pay too much attention to the comings and goings of anyone as most of the time our heads and thoughts are involved with what our fingers are flying to produce as we're all on a deadline pretty much of the time. We can't afford to keep up on who enters or leaves.

"However, it's possible she did come in here only to head towards one of the back offices to hand over more revisions to a show or two that will need to be done almost immediately. And, if that's the case then she quite probably left out of their door heading back to her own office."

Edward stood looking at the woman as if she had lost her mind by saying there was another exit out of the room, but, he had no basis to correct her since he wasn't familiar with the layout of the place. He was taking the time to think through all that the woman had told him, but, he wanted to ask her one last question, "If, as you say, she left from another office then why would she come through this doorway to get to an office in the back instead of just going straight to that office to begin with?"

It hadn't registered with the typist or Edward that as he and the woman were busy conversing the sound of the typing was slowly ceasing to exist as others were becoming more aware of his presence in their work space. Everyone there knew who he was and they were curious as to why he was there talking with one of their own. So, as the typing was slowly coming to a stop and a quiet was starting to rein in the room they were able to hear more of the conversation.

And with that being the case, the male typist that was seated behind the woman that Edward had been talking to answered before she was able, "That's easy to explain, since this is used as a shortcut all the time. It's easier to come through here than going the long way around, but, our exit door is hidden just around the corner beside the water cooler."

Looking at the man that had supplied the missing information Edward nodded and then thanked him for clearing up the mystery of the vanishing woman. It was noticed by the woman that Edward had first spoke to that Edward had made a move to turn and leave that she quickly spoke up and offered the information of where Bella's office was located if he needed to speak with her. And, then as Edward thanked her for the information she shyly asked if she might get his autograph.

Once that was done and Edward had nodded reaching for the paper and pen she offered and then the whole typing pool was anxious to acquire his signature. Edward took the time to talk briefly with each person while signing the offered paper before Steven called a halt and the two men were able to make their way out of the office.

"Okay, I'm not quite sure what all of this was about, but, can we get the hell out of here now?"

"Yeah, man, but, I want to stop by a florist on the way back home."

"What are you up to, Edward?"

"None of your damn business. But, I do need for you to discover everything you can about the person that wrote the script we're doing. Also, include Kathrine Denali into that research, but, only going back for the last three or four years." And with that nothing else was said.

They did stop by the florist and Edward ordered three large bouquets to be delivered to the person he named on the card. Each arrangement consisted of different flowers since he didn't know as yet which were her favor flower, but, he would learn in due time.

So, with that done Edward had Steven drop him off at his home while his agent went back to his office to begin gathering what information he could in order to fulfill his client's request.

 **A/N: Edward thought he had Bella cornered, but, he received surprise instead. But, what is Kathrine Denali up to and what has she done to Edward in the past that has him so dead set against her that would cause him to rethink doing the movie project?**

 **All thoughts and reviews are always welcome. Thanks for reading.**


	4. Chapter 4

**HOW I GOT HERE**

 **Disclaimer: The Cullen's, the Swans, and most of the characters mentioned in the story that are known from Stephanie Meyer's beloved Twilight Saga, are all hers and hers alone. I neither have nor wish to pass them off as mine. I do appreciate the fact that she did bring them to life and allows us to play with them in our imaginations. The only thing I will claim is the current storyline.**

 **The awesome and talented dowlingnana searched out my errors and corrected them.**

 _So, with that done Edward had Steven drop him off at his home while his agent went back to his office to begin gathering what information he could in order to fulfill his client's request._

 **CHAPTER 4: WHAT THE HELL?**

Several days had passed since the signing of the contracts and Edward had the three different types of flowers sent to one Isabella "Bella" who was a script and screen writer. Edward was starting to lose patience while waiting for his agent to get back with him about the information he had requested as they were leaving the studio offices after finalizing his commitment to doing the movie. He made up his mind that if he hadn't heard from Steven by the end of business today that he would be placing a very irate call to his agent with no holding back on his anger directed towards that individual during the conversation.

Edward wasn't a conceited person like a lot of other Hollywood A-listers were, but, he had paid his dues along the way to be in the position that he felt that when he asked something of his people then he had the right to expect it to be done; for it to be done immediately since he was more or less paying their salaries.

He was that eager to find out all he could about the young screen writer of his film. Even now, after rereading the entire script again, Edward still felt that his character and the story, itself, was speaking to him on a deep down level. It was a connection he was feeling that gave him the confidence that he was meant to bring life to this story; to give it a voice and a permanence in the realm of cinematography.

And for some unexplainable reason Edward felt drawn to the young lady that wrote it. It was driving him crazy not to know anything and everything about her. He was feeling a connection to her that was beyond reason; a connection that was similar, but, still different just like he was feeling towards the story she had created. In fact, he had even gone so far as to question his parents about any possible accidents he might have had, but, didn't remember as a way of trying to explain away the connection he was feeling towards her. Of course, their answer was what he expected, "No." So, how else could it be explained since he didn't believe in 'love at first sight'. To him that was a lot of bull. It just didn't happen in real life on a normal level, except, maybe, with his parents, but that was different than what had happened to him and after his short lived experience into the land of marriage that concept was definitely blown out of the water as far as he was concerned. Never again would he take that leap with another woman.

XXXXX

Bella had been completely surprised when she had been informed that her screenplay was going to be made into a film. When she had submitted it to her boss, Lawrence Clark, she thought it would end up going the same way as all of the others she had turned in: not worth the time to clean it up. The studio, although, encouraged their people to expand and submit original material, didn't feel that it had the necessary money to throw away on projects that would require more time than production time to make it useable. But, this last one, "Time Everlasting" seemed to speak to a lot of people on a level she never imagined.

And, then to be told after such a long period of time that the studio wanted to make it into a movie and they began talks with her for the purchase of the script was what she had dreamed about for a very long time. She was doing the job she loved, but, most of all she had wanted to have her work worthy to be made into memorable movies; and, now her dream was coming true.

Bella had been involved in the industry long enough to know how to deal with a contract in regards to the studio purchasing her script and she used that knowledge to her benefit too when the contracts were signed and both sides were happy with the arrangements. She had maintained her copyrights and would be the one to revise any necessary changes needed in regards to the script when filming began. She had also received a promotion which came with a raise in pay and a staff of her own. This was done because the studio heads had decided that Bella and her team would be responsible doing the scripts and any revisions needed for a certain listing of popular series they had running on television.

The studio had received the rights to cast what actors they deemed worthy of making the project into a box office hit, the director would be able to ask for any changes that would make the picture flow more smoothly and only a certain percentage would be paid to Bella after the movie began running in the theaters that was beyond the agreed purchase price. The percentage was expected to be paid everytime the movie ran after the initial run because of her retaining the copyrights to the storyline. And the powers that be were entirely happy with the small details of what Bella wanted since they hadn't been unreasonable, but, they had been aware of the excellent job she had been doing in her own area and that was why they had promoted her; it had nothing to do with the screenplay they had purchased from her.

But, the biggest surprise was that the studio thought it was worthy enough to bring in A-listers to portray the main characters. She was thrilled that the male lead was going to be done by the one man she thought oozed talent and sex appeal out of every pore of his body, both the covered and uncovered parts, but, who always had the starring role in her dreams with her being the female lead.

However, she wasn't really thrilled about Kathrine Denali playing the female lead. True the woman could act her way out of a paper bag, but, still her whole demeanor was off putting. Bella's skin crawled every time she had to be around that woman. In fact, she got a sick, creepy feeling anytime the woman was near; Bella didn't have to see or hear her before that feeling would overcome her, Kathrine just had to be in the vicinity for it to happen. The only way Bella could describe Kathrine to anyone to try to explain how she felt towards the actress was that Kathrine was too sickly sweet in her approach to people, except for those she felt were beneath her then she just didn't give a damn as to how she spoke or treated them.

The day everyone was to meet with the director Bella was nervous since she was going to be in the same room with Edward Cullen, but, at the last minute before his arrival she had gotten an urgent call concerning one of the weekly scripts and she had to leave to help get the problem resolved immediately. However, as she opened the door who did she nearly run over, but, the very person she was nervous about meeting, let alone being in the same room with him. Of course, he had been very nice to her, but, that spark that she felt as she had touched him had only helped to increase her nervousness. Although, she did wonder if he had felt it as well.

That question was answered for her later that day when three different sets of flowers had arrived addressed to Isabella 'Bella' in the writing department. The note on each of the arrangements was different, but was a very sweet one that she had refused to allow any of her associates to see even though they tried to get the information from her all the way up to time to leave for the night.

The first note read: _For a lovely lady that came as a complete surprise_. The second note read: _To the lady that gave me a spark to life._ And the third note read: _Intrigued to know you after the jolt of meeting you._ As she had read each note her question as to whether he had felt that same bit of an electric shock as she had was answered: he had.

Once she had gotten home and unloaded the flowers placing them around her living room, Bella sat down and reread the three little notes that Edward Cullen had sent to her with the arrangements. She smiled as she read them once more and felt a silly little tingle begin running down her spine. And there was a sudden jump in her heartbeat as she finished reading the third one where he said he was 'intrigued to know her'. How he could possibly be intrigued and wanting to meet someone like her when he was in the light of the world and moved on a totally different social plane than she did she felt was beyond reasoning? After all, Bella knew that she wasn't plain looking, but, she wasn't any raving beauty, either. But, there wasn't anything wrong with a woman dreaming, was there?

As she got ready for work the next day, taking the time to dress with a bit more care instead of her usual jeans and shirt. Bella wore a business pant suit and applied some light makeup. All of this was done with a nervous expectation of some kind of surprise and she wanted to be looking her best for whatever or whoever might approach her. But, as the days passed and nothing happened so she went back to her normal dress pattern.

XXXXXX

One week after the encounter between Edward and Bella another meeting was being called for all of the major leads to meet and begin rehearsal of the script. Bella was expected to be present to make note of any possible revisions that might be needed. And as he walked through the door Edward was excited with the prospect of seeing the young woman that had been haunting him all week. Now he would be able to speak with her and hopefully have a chance to get to know her better. There was something about her that made him realize that he couldn't get away with approaching her or treating her the same as he would have any other female. But, also, came the realization that he was going to be in the same room for a lengthy period of time with whore hag Kathrine Denali.

But there was something about Bella that made her different, but, he wasn't sure about the 'why' as yet. He was determined to find out what it was. Once he did that then he would be able to move on to another woman and the haunting of this one would stop turning up in his thoughts at the most inappropriate times.

He had really given Steven a dressing down because of the amount of time he was taking in doing as he had requested concerning getting information about the young Bella. But, once all was said and done it seemed that she didn't speak of her life to anyone; she kept her private life, private which was the reason it was taking Steven so long to get anything as a whole lot was being kept under wraps.

Steven was able to find out that her father lived in a small ass town, the kind that if you blinked you missed it, and was the Chief of Police there. Her mother and father were divorced and the mother was remarried to another guy and they lived happily in Florida. He had been able to get the public information about her schooling, but, that was where everything ended. And that surprised the hell out of Edward just like it had Steven.

So, Edward told Steven to try to approach the subject from getting more information on her parents and see if that would lead into more in-depth information concerning her. But, once again road blocks began to appear; only the public type of information was available nothing too revealing concerning her parents was found.

All of this brought Edward to the question 'what could she be hiding' and then the next question of 'why'. Next came the thought of 'could this have anything to do with the writing of 'Time Everlasting'?

 **A/N: Edward is intrigued with Bella and the shock he felt when they had first met. But, the fact that no one seemed to be able to get any further other than just the basics about her was pulling him into wanting to get to the bottom of why she was haunting him. What is it that Bella and her family could be hiding? What would be the reason to keep most of the information about her and her family secret?**

 **All thoughts and reviews are always welcome. Thanks for reading.**


	5. Chapter 5

**HOW I GOT HERE**

 **Disclaimer: The Cullen's, the Swans, and most of the characters mentioned in the story that are known from Stephanie Meyer's beloved Twilight Saga, are all hers and hers alone. I neither have nor wish to pass them off as mine. I do appreciate the fact that she did bring them to life and allows us to play with them in our imaginations. The only thing I will claim is the current storyline.**

 **The awesome and talented dowlingnana searched out my errors and corrected them.**

 _All of this brought Edward to the question 'what could she be hiding' and then the next question of 'why'. Next came the thought of 'could this having anything to do with the writing of 'Time Everlasting'?_

 **CHAPTER 5: SECRETS**

Bella was unaware that Edward was interested in her enough to have his agent to be checking into her background, but, neither Edward or Bella knew that Kathrine Denali was doing the same thing; she was wanting to find out what was catching Edward's interest in the little nobody as she termed her in her thoughts since Kathrine couldn't seem to find anything about Bella that would catch the interest of anyone as she didn't seem to have any outstanding qualities. Kathrine had her sights set on Edward and was damn determined that no one else was going to get in her way; not even this piece of nothing that seem to have him panting after her for the moment as Kathrine knew that Edward was one not to really do much chasing after any woman.

The truth about Bella was just as Edward had surmised, that she did have a secret to hide, but, it wasn't that big of a deal to her. Her father worked undercover for many of the government agencies and a lot of his information along with that of his family had to be kept quiet. No one wanted to risk a hostage type situation that could and would compromise whatever case Charlie might be working on at the time.

That type of situation had happened once when Bella was smaller and Renee was still married to Charlie Swan. Of course at that time he hadn't been the police chief of Forks Washington; a small backwater town that no one knew existed and you had to look close to even find it on a map. Instead, he had been a detective on the Phoenix Police force which was a cover for the type of jobs he really did for the federal law enforcement agencies.

But, due to a bit of carelessness on Renee's part as she was bragging one day about how her husband was away a lot working on a case for a federal agency that he was assigned to get all the information he could against certain criminals. Somehow, that information had managed to find its way to one of the people that Charlie was undercover getting some evidence for the FBI and a plan had been formed to have his family taken as leverage, and, this had happened at that time Charlie and his family had lived in Phoenix AZ.

As the move was about to be made to abduct his wife and child to be held as leverage against Charlie so he would fake a report back to the FBI, it was foiled at the last minute. Charlie found out about the move that was planned against his family and was able to get the information back to his handler in time to prevent such an action. It was from that point onwards that only limited information could be gathered about any member of the Swan family. And, it was why he was moved to the small town of Forks Washington as a means of hiding him and his family away from any possible future threats.

However, after a while the quiet, country like life of a small, everyone knows your business, or, what they think is your business, town wasn't something that Renee could accept for herself and her daughter. After a couple of years, she divorced Charlie and took her daughter back to Phoenix where she took up her old position as a part time school teacher and a part time parent.

Bella grew up fast and early as she was learning to be the responsible one in that family of females. Renee was an excellent teacher and a fun loving person to be with and most everyone thought that she was Bella's old sister, but, underneath it all Renee was kind of scattered brained when it came to taking care of bills, the home or other required areas of dealing with the home fires. When she did think to attempt dealing with things everything always ended by up in a mess that Bella had to straighten out once more and Renee's attempts at cooking was a total disaster each and every time, even when trying to do a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Both Renee and Bella stayed in touch with Charlie and Bella did spend quite a bit of time with her father during all of the school breaks and summers as Renee was busy with whatever fellow she was handling at that time. But, finally, she settled for just one and remarried after a time. He had been drafted to a baseball team in Florida, so, it was expected that Renee and Bella to make the move with him. It was at that time that Bella refused and decided to move to a more permanent place with her dad.

Of course, when Charlie was asked about the situation since by this time he had made Police Chief of Forks he was over the moon with joy of having his only child living with him once more. So, immediate plans were made for Bella to move before Phil and Renee did. Renee made the trip with her daughter to make sure she was comfortable before walking a way to a different life that was waiting for her in Jacksonville Florida where she did begin to grow up and be responsible after a time and she realized that no one else was going to do it for her.

And, as the years passed everyone stayed in touch and visits back and forth were made. Even Charlie's undercover work waned to just an absolute case here and there type pattern until Bella went away to college at which time he returned to a more active role of his former activities. His daughter was aware of it, but, never breathed a word to anyone about it and nothing was ever said to Renee about him resuming his undercover role. That one time of the near miss because of her talking about subjects best left unsaid had proven to be enough for everyone as the saying of the navy went, "lose lips sinks ships". That theory was never tested again.

Life had moved forwards with Bella graduating from college with a degree in English and Creative Writing. She had attended UCLA, applied for a job that her Creative Writing professor had recommended and decided to stay after being hired. And, of course, Charlie was a bit saddened by the fact that his daughter, his little girl, wasn't returning to Washington to live and work closer to him, but, at the same time he realized that it could be a blessing in disguise due to the type of work he did from time to time.

Bella had delivered such outstanding work in the script department that she had been promoted in no time to a more responsible job other than just being in the pool of assistant writers. Of course, with each promotion a raise in pay came along with them and it helped Bella to begin to have a more comfortable lifestyle in a more secure area of the city. However, once she felt secure in her job, she began doing her own scripts and would submit them to her boss only to continually receive back a rejection each time. That's why when this latest one had been accepted it had come as a complete surprise and a shock to her.

It didn't take long for things to move forwards from that moment at a more rapid pace and now she was going to be working with her favorite male actor as well as the greatest known diva bitch of the industry, Kathrine Denali. But, best of all she would be seeing one of her creations actually brought to life and appearing before millions upon the big screen around the world. A dream come true.

And that was how she came face to face with one Edward Cullen and was now receiving flowers from him. He was even calling her intriguing. If she had been younger and a school girl she felt like she to would be squealing with glee instead of just feeling like doing it, but, she was doing everything within her power to control her reactions to being so close to him and to the knowledge that they would be, more or less, working together.

He was the man she had in mind when she wrote TIME EVERLASTING. Edward Cullen was the man that would do her father proud when telling this story.

XXXXXX

Edward felt he had made the right decision in accepting this part the more he fell into the role as rehearsals helped the actors to become more familiar with their parts. Each person was able to gain understanding of their character which was giving the character more depth and life.

As he watched all of the characters interact in life instead of just on paper he saw how intense the story truly was. The action of the male lead working, often times away from home and under dangerous circumstances, the lead female trying to entice him away from his job, the family interwoven from time to time into the action with its influence and the decisions that have to be made for the safety of the innocents being threatened through no fault of their own. But, the main theme, other than the adventure, is the love that is apparent from each member of the family.

Edward did look forward to the rehearsals for another reason as well, it was during this time, although, he hadn't been able to get very close to the young script writer, that he did get to see her as she listened to the director to when he requested any sort of changes in the script. So, far there hadn't been much that's required to be changed, and, this fact delighted Bella to no end.

With there being only a few changes required it meant that Bella had written her script with an even flow that worked well with the camera and how the actors could move flawlessly through the dialogue with no problems. And, she was beginning to see why the studio had accepted this script of hers while rejecting the others in the past.

She would appear on the set from time to time after getting her other work done for two reasons; the first being so she was present in case changes were needed as was her contractual responsibility and the second being so she could watch her script come to life. But, the bonus of all of this was to watch Edward Cullen work and be near him at the same time without appearing to be stalkerish.

Without her being aware of it Edward Cullen was happy to be doing the script, but, he was also happy to see Bella appear on the set from time to time. He knew that if she did any other manuscripts that he would always want first choice in being the male lead. She was that good with her story line and how she presented the characters. The young writer had something to say and was able to tell it in everyday language that managed to get her point across without them appearing to be stiff.

But, the one thing that amazed Edward and was becoming apparent to his family was the fact that his player ways seemed to be slowly disappearing. They didn't have the answers, but, Edward wasn't fully aware of the reason, either, however, he had more of a clue than the rest of them. He was slowly building up the nerve to ask the young writer out and hoping that she'd accept.

Edward hadn't told his parents or his two sisters about his obsession with the young script writer. He didn't want to be answering continual questions coming from the females of his family. Of course, he knew that his father would also have some questions too, but, he would bide his time until it was just the two men alone before asking questions of his own.

 **A/N: Okay, now we have Bella's history and know more about what her script is about. Edward is still fixated upon Bella and Bella is thrilled to be working next to her dream man. But, how does all of this have anything to do in real life with Edward and Bella? Who is going to be the demon that got the ball to rolling down the road of disaster?**

 **All thoughts and reviews are always welcome. Thanks for reading.**


	6. Chapter 6

**HOW I GOT HERE**

 **Disclaimer: The Cullen's, the Swans, and most of the characters mentioned in the story that are known from Stephanie Meyer's beloved Twilight Saga, are all hers and hers alone. I neither have nor wish to pass them off as mine. I do appreciate the fact that she did bring them to life and allows us to play with them in our imaginations. The only thing I will claim is the current storyline.**

 **The awesome and talented dowlingnana searched out my errors and corrected them.**

 _Edward hadn't told his parents or his two sisters about his obsession with the young script writer. He didn't want to be answering continual questions coming from the females of his family. Of course, he knew that his father would also have some questions too, but, he would bide his time until it was just the two men alone before asking questions of his own._

 **CHAPTER 6: SETTING THE STAGE FOR EVIL**

The rehearsals and then the filming were progressing at a steady rate, but, questions were starting to be asked as to why the 'player, Edward Cullen' was missing more and more from the dating and the party scenes. Where once he appeared to be a regular, but, now he only was seen every once in a while.

In fact, his family's questions were becoming more pressing for information as well. Thus far he had been able to forestall giving them any answers, but, Edward was wise enough to realize that he was starting to run short on time before he had to start giving straight forward answers to his family; everyone else could be damn.

He was disappointed that nothing, but, just the barest of facts could be found about Bella and her family. Only the ordinary bare bone information about her, her family, her background which included her educational information, but, nothing deeper than that. However, after giving it some thought, especially, after getting more into the story and watching his subject when she would appear, Edward decided that it wasn't that important; whatever further information he wanted he could get from the young lady, herself, once he got her to go out with him. All he had to do was build up the nerve to ask her out first. This twist of things surprised him as he never before had been in this sort of a predicament. In the past he could have any woman he wanted without having to work for it, but, now he was in a grey area where he wasn't sure what the answer would be from the lady in question.

Little did Edward know that Bella was going through nearly the same sort of emotional experiences that he was. He was her favorite actor; she thought he was the hottest male on the planet and had very explicit dreams about him; dreams that didn't have any sort of rating that would cover her dreams since the X rating or the R rating were tame compared to what her dreams were about at times. Not that Bella was into the BDSM sort of play, no, that kind of thing just didn't do a thing for her in any way, but, her dreams left nothing to the imagination and each time Bella allowed herself to think about one of those dreams she would blush a deep, deep red.

She appeared from time to time each day in order to check about any changes that might needed to be made, but, that also gave her the excuse to linger to watch her story come to life under the excellent skills of the actors and the director. It thrilled her to unspeakable heights to see this happening and at the same time of having a dream come true of being near Edward Cullen. Of course, bitch diva did everything she could do to keep Edward occupied and his attention solely focused on her to the extent of excluding anyone else, the director, the extras, the support actors and any of the crew working on the set, but, little did Bella know that she, herself, was the main person Denali was working to keep away from and out of Edward's thoughts.

Oh, Kathrine Denali had been thoroughly pissed off that none of the people she had hired could find out anything more concerning Bella other than the basis that was given on the internet and was the same that, unbeknownst to her, Edward and his people had found out also. The only difference was that Edward had enough sense to question about the story being about some experience in the writer's life and Kathrine Denali didn't give it a moment's thought. Her life appeared to be so squeaky clean that it was as if the nobody was Miss Perfect in every aspect of her life. Kathrine didn't believe that anyone could be that clean with no skeletons hidden somewhere in a closet. She was determined to find that skeleton and to use it to keep the little bitch away from what she considered to be her own personal property: one Edward Cullen. She had plans for the future which included Edward and she would make him aware of them when the time was right, and, not a moment before then.

The day finally came when Edward decided that he was going to man up and ask the object of his desire out: Isabella Swan. He had continued to send flowers to her at the office at least twice a week without fail since he was wanting her to get used to the idea that he thought about her as a woman, but, he wasn't aware of how Bella viewed herself as being fairly attractive, or, as she would say, 'nothing to shout about' average. Kathrine wasn't aware of this fact as yet, otherwise, she would have been on some kind of warpath against Bella, but, then Bella never told anyone who the flowers were from, but, she did enjoy them and wondered how she could be rating so highly to have caught the attention of someone like Edward Cullen. But, this was the day that he was going to go for broke and chance a rejection from the lovely Isabella. Rejection wasn't something that Edward was use to receiving from any woman.

However, this decision of Edward's was one of many to come that would put everyone on the road to heart wrenching sorrow in the future. A future that would bring, in the beginning, great joy and love, but, then great tragedy that would tear apart family and friends to leave behind in its wake nothing, but, horror, resentment, questions, doubts and hopelessness; a dread to face a tomorrow let alone the next minute of life and no desire to even put one foot in front of another while knowing the whole time that you had to keep moving forward to work and live. But, no one was aware of what the future would or could hold because of simple actions taken, or decisions simply made.

So, Edward Cullen, decision made and courage gathered together, moved towards Bella as soon as he saw her enter the sound stage. But, as he was taking the first step towards her, she was looking at the director and moving in that direction. And, at the same time Kathrine had turned to see where Edward was and started moving towards him. The direction each person was moving was where the director was standing talking with the producers about who knew what at that particular moment.

Bella arrived first and was standing a little way behind the director waiting for him to finish his conversation. Then, suddenly, she began to feel that special charge that she only felt when Edward Cullen was near her and depending on how close he was determined the strength of the charge. Edward was approaching to stand directly behind her and Kathrine Denali was at a full stride to reach everyone to claim Edward's attention, his full attention, before he had a chance to give it away to anyone else that she deemed unimportant.

About the time everyone came together at the same spot and came to a standstill the director and the producer saw their two main stars and the script writer standing just a short distance away waiting for someone's attention. It was during the short wait that Edward bent down and whispered into Bella's ear a request, "Will you have dinner with me this evening?"

With that question asked two heads jerked in his direction to look at the actor with utter amazement on their faces. Bella's carried a look of amazement mixed with surprise, puzzlement and confusion, all being reflected in both her expression and in her deep chocolate colored brown eyes as she searched his face to try to determine just how serious he was being about his invitation. And, Kathrine's face was a look of amazement mingled with confusion and extreme anger, to the point that she looked as if she was about ready to do violence to someone. However, before either woman could comment the director and the producer walked over to talk with all three people.

"Miss Swan, I have to commend you on the excellent work that you're doing in keeping up with the changes that are needed on a daily basis. Of course, the story and the script was so well done and prepared from the beginning that I understand that very little changing has been needed, but, still your commitment to keeping up with what's required is wonderful." The producer, John Mathisson, remarked as he came to a halt in front of the group of three. Then he continued as he looked at both Edward and Kathrine, "And, the way you two are bringing the story to life is beyond words. I do believe that we have an Oscar winner on our hands with this one; not just for the story, but, for both of you as well."

Kathrine took the compliment as if it was her due and that she was surprised that anyone would assume anything less than her being brilliant in a role coming from her acting. Edward was surprised, but, deep down he knew that the producer was only stating what he, himself, had felt from the moment he had read the script. However, he, unlike Kathrine, appreciated John's comments, even though, Edward was very much aware of his value as an actor.

Edward knew that he was jaded in some ways, but, never to the extent that he couldn't appreciate being told how well his performance was, or, how his ability was appreciated by others and definitely when he was told by his fans how much they were touched and understood the message his acting conveyed to them. But, then in other areas he was very much a snob to a certain extent, just like Kathrine Denali, but, not as bad. Her attitude covered all areas of her life, but, Edward's only covered certain areas.

Bella told him a quiet 'thank you' while Kathrine replied, 'of course, what else did you expect from someone of our caliber' and Edward mumbled a quiet 'thanks' with a gentle nod of his head to acknowledge the praise from the higher ups. Of course, John wasn't fooled by Kathrine since he knew her personally as well as professionally the same as he knew Edward because they all have moved in the same crowds.

He continued speaking as he included the director, Demetri Oliveri, letting everyone know how pleased he and the other heads of the studio were concerning the development of the current project. And as he continued to deliver his praise Bella began blushing with pleasure that her story was thought of so highly and everyone noticed the blush as it deepened without commenting, that is all except Kathrine. She had to say, "What the hell is wrong with you? Are you sick or something or running a fever to be so red faced? If you're ill, you need to stay away from the rest of us as we are the center of getting this movie done."

And with that said Kathrine quickly turned to speak with Edward cutting Bella out, but, he wasn't having it as he was determined to get an answer to his question from Bella. Kathrine held no interest for him and he didn't care what she wanted, his full attention was centered on the young brown eyed beauty standing just in front of him.

Bella, more than the two actors, was giving both the producer and the director her full attention and had forgotten all about Edward and his whispered question. And, to Bella Kathrine wasn't even worth the time to pay her, her actions or her comments any attention. Bella was at work and being the professional that was required at the present time. Anything that wasn't involved in doing her job or aiding her in doing a better job was ignored and ruled by her as being not important. So, that's how she was treating Kathrine's nonsense and whatever it was that Edward had said to her before John and Demetri had approached them. However, she didn't notice how Kathrine received her snub to the actress's presence, nor, did she hear the mumbled comment about getting even for the nobody that was trying to steal her man.

But, as John and Demetri finished speaking and the stage setting had been redone for the next scene, John left the set and Demetri relieved Bella by letting her know that he had no changes at the moment that needed to be done, so, she making the move to return to her own office. But, just as she was about to walk through the door she felt Edward's presence behind her once more; not that it had left at all during the discussion with the producer and the director, but, as she had put distance between them the feeling wasn't quite as intense.

"Ms. Swan, Bella, if I may, please wait up. I would like an answer to my question. Will you have dinner with me this evening once we halt for the night?"

Bella looked at him and searched his features trying to determine just how sincere his request truly was. What she saw was nothing more than sincere openness in his face and eyes, so, she nodded yes before saying, "Yes, Mr. Cullen,-" but Edward interrupted her with his request, "Edward. Please, call me Edward."

"Very well, Edward. I would enjoy having dinner with you this evening. What time should I be ready and where will you be picking me up?"

"Well, since we can't go until after shooting is done for tonight, why don't I pick you up at your office, if you're still there. Otherwise, I'll call you to get your address."

She smiled and told him that would be fine then continued her way back to her office.

 **A/N: So, Edward has asked Bella out and Bella accepted. But, Kathrine is ready to start causing problems because of Edward wanting to be with Bella. What kind of trouble is Denali going to cause and how is she going to start going about it? The question still remains as to what has caused Edward to be so against Kathrine?**

 **All thoughts and reviews are always welcome. Thanks for reading.**


	7. Chapter 7

**HOW I GOT HERE**

 **Disclaimer: The Cullen's, the Swans, and most of the characters mentioned in the story that are known from Stephanie Meyer's beloved Twilight Saga, are all hers and hers alone. I neither have nor wish to pass them off as mine. I do appreciate the fact that she did bring them to life and allows us to play with them in our imaginations. The only thing I will claim is the current storyline.**

 **The awesome and talented dowlingnana searched out my errors and corrected them.**

" _Very well, Edward. I would enjoy having dinner with you this evening. What time should I be ready and where will you be picking me up?"_

" _Well, since we can't go until after shooting is done for tonight, why don't I pick you up at your office, if you're still there. Otherwise, I'll call you to get your address."_

 _She smiled and told him that would be fine then continued her way back to her office._

 **CHAPTER 7: ADMISSIONS TO SELF**

So, with that first dinner invitation a pattern was started; at the end of filming Edward and Bella would meet late in the evening for a quiet bite to eat. The location would change each time and was never the same place twice as Bella had made it very clear on the first date that she didn't want to go where the media would be and start using her as a storyline in reference to his adventures. She didn't want to go down the road of having their time together as speculation about a relationship and he agreed.

Edward did agree because he was still convinced that the script was based upon an event that had taken place in Bella's life. And, if that was the case then it was his place to protect her from being in the public view as it might be an invitation for someone to harm her.

Another advantage of not going to the mainstream restaurants and places that the media was known to favor because of the top notch names in the industry of show business that would frequent those places was that they never ran the chance of running into Kathrine Denali. Privacy was maintained and it allowed the couple to have a better chance to get to know each other.

Both Bella and Edward admitted to each other about how much they were enjoying avoiding the attention of the media and having questions being fired constantly at them. Of course, Edward had to admit to himself that he was truly enjoying being with Bella, but, also, he was becoming addicted to the quietness that surrounded their outings. It was refreshing and something he hadn't fully realized how much he had missed the loss of that aspect of his life until he began dating Bella and listening to her rule of no place with media coverage.

He admitted it to himself and to Bella how relaxing it was just to be free of the pretense of having to be a certain way which seemed to be all of the time. Then he said how nice it was to see someone else other than himself enjoy their food because Bella knew what she liked and wasn't worried about her weight as she ate; she was herself with no pretense or reservations.

True, he told himself he could continue dissecting each little bit of information he discovered about Bella, but, what it all boiled down to was that she was real; she was true to herself and felt comfortable with her image of herself and her ideas of how she wanted to do things and achieve her goals. This was a concept that Edward had forgotten about as his career took off and he was more and more in the public eye. He became more comfortable with the public image as he shed his normal, everyday personal persona. Bella, being with her and listening to her, showed him, really, more reminded him of what life away from the public had been like years ago.

In fact, the more he thought about it the more he realized and admitted to himself that he wanted to recapture that neglected side that he had, without thinking, left behind and sacrificed to get ahead and to achieve the level of notice that he had accomplished. He also admitted that he wanted Bella to be the one that he would share the private side of life with, both now and in the future. The more time he spent with her, got to know her, the more he realized that she was the one thing that had been missing in his life that made him feel more complete.

Edward was jarred abruptly from his thoughts by a loud pounding at his trailer door. That knocking brought his attention back to the present and the fact that he was going to have to do a difficult scene with Kathrine. A scene, on a closed set, that was going to call for some of the best acting he had ever done in his entire career; act like she was the love of his life.

He was realizing that he should have expressed his concern about this bitch at the beginning of the project when he had been given the opportunity when he had been asked about any problems or reservations he might have had about things. But, no, he kept his mouth shut about how much he disliked Kathrine all because of his burning desire to do this film. He allowed himself to concentrate on the fact that she was a good actress and not on the fact that she was a total, genuine bitch otherwise. That had been a mistake and now it was too late to rectify his mistake.

Just as he started to rise to answer the door the voice he dreaded to hear spoke, "Come on, Eddie, I know you're in there. Open up and let me in so we can go over our lines before getting in front of the camera."

"Go away, Kathrine. I don't need to go over anything with you." He replied in what he hoped was an evenly toned, but, firm voice. However, she didn't seem to take the hint and instead, continued to bang upon the door while demanding to be let in.

Edward had learned the hard way to lock his trailer door after having Kathrine barge in at some of the most inopportune times. She would catch him trying to take a power nap in between sets, or, just be getting ready to get in or out of the shower at the end of the day. And, it was always with an excuse or demand that he needed to do something for or with her. It seemed that with each refusal, though, she became more and more unreasonable vocally to the point that at times she would catch the attention of others around them.

Unfortunately, her intrusions weren't just her showing up at his trailer at any time she chose, but, it extended anywhere they might end up being at the same time: the sound stage, the canteen, a vender's cart just to name a few. And, if Edward didn't notice or pay attention to her immediately she would begin her demand for his attention. This extended to cutting out anyone that he might be talking with at the time like she was more important than the producers or the director talking with him. One time she even interrupted a conversation he was having with his agent about another project.

He hadn't held back from the very beginning in making his objections known to her, but, she refused to accept what he told her. She refused to keep her distance and refused to stop acting like Edward was her personal property. They did have a history, but, Edward had always tried to be professional when they had to be involved in the same project or the promotion of said film, but, Kathrine refused to let go of the past. She wanted to continue on as if nothing had change.

Edward wasn't fooled as she might have hoped that he was; he knew that she was wanting to have a hold on him so she could keep him restricted while she was free to pursue a lifestyle free of obligations. Kathrine hadn't changed in all of the years that he's known her, and, in some ways, he honestly admitted that he was like her.

He hadn't been raised to be that way, but, being in the business that he was and the quick successes of his movies had helped to get him near that point on some things. And, Edward would admit that his brief marriage to a self-serving bitch had helped to share some of his ideas of how he would conduct himself. Though, never did he think that a chance sighting or the reading of an outstanding script written by a certain beauty could be the beginning of him rethinking his lifestyle and his attitude of things. He was starting to realize just what was missing in his life and he wanted to hold on to the beauty that was bringing him back to his true self.

From the moment that he had first sighted Bella, but, more so as he had looked into her eyes for the first time he had started to change without realizing it, but, his family did. They commented about and demanded answers and since those answers haven't been forthcoming they have been even more demanding for an explanation as to what has happened to start bringing about the changes they're seeing in him.

XXXXX

From the beginning Bella never thought that her dreams of being involved with her favorite actor, the one and only sexiest man walking the face of the earth, Edward Cullen, would ever be interested in her or bringing her script to life on the big screen. That's why, ever so often, she had to pinch herself to make sure she was wide awake instead of dreaming each time they went out together.

But, she knew from the very first time he asked her out to dinner that she couldn't handle all of the shit storm that would rain down upon her head if they were seen together at a place that was frequented by A-listers, or, even, the B-listers. So, with that in mind Bella told Edward when he came to pick her up at the office that first time, that they had to go someplace where no one with a camera would be waiting around to snap their picture while shouting questions at them. She explained that she had no wish to be the center of attention or to face the media and any of his fans' speculations about any supposed relationship between them.

And, truthfully, being honest with herself, Bella really believed that that one date would be just a one-time thing, especially after she gave him her condition. But, surprisingly, the first one led to a second, a third and became a path towards, what seemed to Bella, a possible more serious relationship between the two of them.

Bella wasn't a prude, nor, was she a virgin, but, she just didn't sleep around with every male that asked either. In fact, she didn't even follow the rule of going to second base after the third date before allowing even a kiss. Bella followed the rule, that if it felt right then it was right. However, that rule rarely applied since she didn't date that much; she really didn't have the time, even though, she was never lacking for someone offering. She was determined make a name for herself in her chosen field of screenwriting and nothing was going to deter her from that path.

But, when she thought about that she admitted that she was becoming very serious about Edward. She had actually stopped thinking of him in the abstract, as the unattainable, and was thinking of a deeper relationship with him; a more permanent relationship with Edward. There were times that she would catch herself daydream ing, even, at work, about Edward and how life might be with him always present.

And, as her thoughts led her in that direction, they would quickly be invaded by a third person: Kathrine Denali. Bella didn't know what Kathrine had been to Edward in the past, but, it wasn't hard to know what Kathrine wanted in the present and the future with Edward. However, she did wonder just how far Kathrine would go to get her claws into Edward. The woman was such a bitch.

Bella knew that Edward couldn't stand the woman and did wonder from time to time why Edward didn't say anything at the beginning of the project that would have forced the heads to find him another leading lady. She would have said something, but, with it being her first acceptance, Bella didn't think that she had that kind of pull to voice an opinion about who starred in her script.

XXXXXX

"I demand that you open this door now, Eddie, and to stop playing hard to get. It's getting to be old and very, very tiresome." Kathrine was near to shouting since Edward hadn't made a move to unlock the door to let her into his trailer.

"And, by what stretch of the imagination do you think you still have the right to demand any damn thing from my son, Kathrine?" Esme demanded to know from the skank that was standing before her.

 **A/N: Edward is starting to be pressured it seems from all sides, but, his thoughts remain concentrated on his beauty. He's even admitting to himself that she had made a profound impression upon him that's motivating him to change his lifestyle.**

 **Bella is admitting how much Edward has started to influence her line of thinking and thoughts.**

 **Kathrine is demanding more and more while Edward's family is seeing the changes he's going through and demanding immediate answers which Edward hasn't given as yet.**

 **What kind of trouble is heading towards Edward and Bella? Who will be the person that starts the avalanche rushing towards our couple?**

 **All thoughts and reviews are always welcome. Thanks for reading.**


	8. Chapter 8

**HOW I GOT HERE**

 **Disclaimer: The Cullen's, the Swans, and most of the characters mentioned in the story that are known from Stephanie Meyer's beloved Twilight Saga, are all hers and hers alone. I neither have nor wish to pass them off as mine. I do appreciate the fact that she did bring them to life and allows us to play with them in our imaginations. The only thing I will claim is the current storyline.**

 **The awesome and talented dowlingnana searched out my errors and corrected them.**

" _And, by what right do you think you still have the right to demand a damn thing from my son, Kathrine?" Esme demanded to know from the skank that was standing before her._

 **CHAPTER 8: QUESTIONS ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS**

"Why, Esme, how are you doing? It's been so long since I've seen you." Kathrine asked and then remarks in a falsely sweet voice of the woman whose voice had startled her as she was trying to get Edward to unlock his trailer door and give her entrance.

"I'm not usually rude to people that I encounter, including the ones I don't care to be around, but, with you I'll make an exception." Esme replied and paused for moment, but, without answering Kathrine's question or remarking to her statement. Then she continued on to say, "You don't give a damn about how I'm doing, and, yes, thank the good Lord, it has been a very pleasant long time since last I had to breathe the same air as you because I'm standing next to you.

"Now, once more, I'll ask you why you think you still have a right to demand a damn thing from my son? You and your skanky ass sister are no longer associated with my family."

"How dare you speak-"

"Speak to you this way? Oh, believe me, I'm enjoying speaking to you this way very much. I and the rest of the family pretty much held our comments when Edward was married to your sister, Irina, but, no longer do we have to worry about it." As Esme had finished speaking Kathrine immediately turned around and marched away from the older woman while she was trying to ignore all of the hoots, yells, catcalls and whistling that was going on as a form of cheering Esme. And, it wasn't until that moment that the dear lady realized that she and Kathrine had managed to attract a crowd of onlookers. Her cheeks reddened a bit as she walked up to Edward's door to knock for him to open it for her. However, the door appeared to already be open with the object of discussion standing there with a wide smile on his face.

She motioned for him to get out of the way as she entered the trailer and told him to close the door. Edward did as his mother requested, really, more like told him to do, and closed the door which managed to dull the volume of the cheering that was still going on outside around the trailer. After observing that her son had done as he was told she sat down on the sofa that was closes to her and buried her head into her hands while Edward gave way to a full out laugh of joy and delight due to his mother's actions with Kathrine.

Of course, after securing the door once more as a precaution, he walked over and sat down next to Esme while trying to control his laughter. With putting an arm around her shoulders and squeezed her in a loving hug as he said, "Don't sweat it, Mom, you've only said what the rest of the crew hasn't been able to say without fear of being fired and that I've been trying to get her to understand for a good while." He was trying to reassure Esme that she hadn't done anything wrong and had no reason to be embarrassed by what had occurred between her and Kathrine.

"But, Edward, it was so unlike me and to act that way in public when it could be reflected back on you. To see her standing there demanding for you to let her in as if it was her right infuriated me to no end. Something in me just snapped and it was like I had this little devil whispering in my ear 'let go and let her know about herself and what I truly thought of her. What makes her think that she has that right where you are concerned?

"She, after all is nothing to you, but, she seems to think that she can do as she pleases where you or anyone else is concerned without any thought. You would think she was some kind of divine something that everyone else should be bowing down to and I refused to stand by any longer while she continued with that attitude directed towards you.

"I mean, after all, you have another lady in your life that means a hell of a lot more and is evidently doing wonders to bring my sweet boy back to himself." Esme paused as she saw that Edward was about to comment to her last statement and held up her hand to still whatever it was he was about to say. Then she continued, "Don't try to deny it, or, try convincing me that I'm only imagining things. It's not just me, but, the whole family that has noticed the changes that are quietly, and true, slowly, but nevertheless, are taking place with you and your outlook about things.

"I'm not going to demand an introduction just yet, but, I'm warning that it had better take place soon. The whole family is getting very impatient waiting for you to bring her to us on your own.

"Now, that I've said what I came to say to you, although, it took a different path than I had anticipated due to Kathrine Denali, I'll let you to get back to work. I've got a million and one things to do to get ready and to be prepared for when you do bring her to meet us." And, with that said the dear lady rose, patted her son tenderly on his cheek, but, hesitated to add, "And stop denying her existence," to which she left while he was still in a bit of a daze from what she had said and revealed to him.

After a bit Edward shook his head as if trying to clear it of his mother's comments as he allowed a smile to break out on his face which was quickly followed by an all-out laugh as he let his mind rehash all that Esme had told him. His mother was one sharp minded woman and he knew that this very situation with his family was bound to happen sooner or later. Truth be told he knew that it would be sooner since all of his family were pretty quick on the uptake in noticing things.

And at this point in his thinking Edward knew that he was due on set and he needed to make his way back to the makeup table to get ready for the next scene which was something he was dreading with every fiber of his being. He just hoped and prayed that Bella wouldn't show up during this scene, like she had a habit of doing because of her position at the studio.

Edward wasn't a fool since he was very much aware that sooner or later the media would get wind of the fact that he was disappearing more and more from the playboy lifestyle which included the partying with different women. In fact, questions were already starting to be thrown in his direction and the few interviews he had been required to endure he had the interviewer tossing as speculation about those very things at him time and again. He was determined, and not just because of her request, to keep Bella as much out of the limelight as he can. He wanted to do this because of his feelings for Bella and a sense of protectiveness that he feels towards her. He knows how the newshounds are and how quickly they are to uplift someone and then just as quickly shred them to pieces. So far he has managed to stay away from the brutality of the downside of this business where the media is connected.

As he opened the door to step out into the sunlight he was startled as well as startling the person that was standing there with a raised hand as if getting ready to knock on his door. The young man stuttered out that he was needed in makeup and then on the closed set for the sex scene. Edward nodded to the intern and told him that he would be right there and asked him to let the director know he would be there as quickly as he could.

XXXXXX

Bella was surprised at how quickly, but, quietly, her relationship with Edward was developing. She never dreamed, well, she did dream of it, but, never thought that it would happen, that Edward Cullen would be interested in her, doing her script and was doing everything he could to keep their time spent together away from the media. She knew that time was quickly coming that she was going to have to tell her dad about who she was exclusively seeing and that from all that Edward had been telling her about his family, that he was getting ready to introduce her to them. That they were constantly bugging him about why he wasn't following along with his usual behavior.

She was curious about the scene that was being filmed today and to see how Edward was going handle it, but, he had requested back after they had started going together that she not put in an appearance during that particular scene. Of course, the question as to why was asked and he had answered that he would be uncomfortable appearing to make love to a woman he can't stand while the one that he was greatly interested in was watching.

"I'm aware that you know what is involved in the scene, but, please, for my sake just call to see if you are going to have to make any changes without appearing out of the blue.

"Bella, love, I'm an actor and I'm wanting to do the best I can to make your story the best that it can be. But, I don't want to take a chance that watching me will put you off from seeing me anymore, or, put me off from giving the best performance that I know how to bring your story alive.

"I mean, right now it's taking all of my skills as an actor just to get through each day having to put up with Kathrine. True, she's doing a wonderful job of playing the wife to Henry Fuller, but, still I can't stand the woman personally. Perhaps, sometime soon I'll have the courage to explain the reason why to you, but, right now, please, just do as I ask." He had asked of her in almost a pleading manner.

Bella just smiled, reached up and lovingly placed her hand on his cheek before telling him that she would stay away and that she understood to a certain degree his reasoning. Then she told him, "But, you have to understand that nothing is going to change our relationship, but, you, yourself." And with that said she leaned forward to give him a gentle kiss on the lips.

And Bella did keep her promise. She called down to talk with the producer to see if any changes were needed to be made to only receive the answer of no. So, she smiled to herself as she returned to her regular workload, but, did wonder how the shooting was doing.

XXXXXX

Edward got through as quickly as he could and then headed towards wardrobe to get ready for the scene that was going to require every bit of his control and call forth his total range of acting abilities to get through this section without throwing up on the skank ass bitch that was his co-star. As it was it took every bit of his strength to hold himself still each time she touched him.

As Kathrine would run her fingernails around on his skin wherever she could reach her touch would make him shiver from being revolted; she chose to believe it was desire from her touch. This reaction took place both during the filming and at break times. He hated her and her agent which also happened to be her sister and his ex-wife, Irina. And the bad part about this whole situation was that Kathrine knew how Edward truly felt about her, but, chose to ignore it. She had her own agenda and refused to accept anything else or to allow anything or anyone else to get in her way. That also included her sister. She wanted what Irina had and tossed away.

Kathrine did have Irina doing some digging and investigating into the past of one Isabella Swan as she was determined to put a stop once and for all to that little nobody getting in the way of her plans like she seemed to be doing. And Kathrine was very much aware that Edward would disappear every chance he got to see the little bitch.

 **A/N: Kathrine doesn't give a rat's ass about anything, but, her desires. She seems to be set on a course with determination to get her claws dug into Edward. How did you like the way Esme behaved? She dealt with Kathrine without hesitation.**

 **All thoughts and reviews are always welcome. Thanks for reading.**


	9. Chapter 9

**HOW I GOT HERE**

 **Disclaimer: The Cullen's, the Swans, and most of the characters mentioned in the story that are known from Stephanie Meyer's beloved Twilight Saga, are all hers and hers alone. I neither have nor wish to pass them off as mine. I do appreciate the fact that she did bring them to life and allows us to play with them in our imaginations. The only thing I will claim is the current storyline.**

 **The awesome and talented dowlingnana searched out my errors and corrected them.**

 _Kathrine did have Irina doing some digging and investigating into the past of one Isabella Swan as she was determined to put a stop once and for all to that little nobody getting in the way of her plans like she seemed to be doing. And Kathrine was very much aware that Edward would disappear every chance he got to see the little bitch._

 **CHAPTER 9: HELL HATH NO FURY**

The sex scene had been finished, but, not without problems. Oh no, not without problems from Kathrine Denali. She felt that what the director was wanting was too tame, so, she was determined to heat, her saying, things up for the audience. But, what finally cooled her ardor and brought about her demanding for the damn scene to be finished was a mere accident that started a chain reaction which caused Kathrine to be the one on the final receiving end.

A staffer had placed a cup of hot coffee down to go do something that happened to be demanded of him that was of immediate importance. As he left the coffee, not paying attention to the fact that it happened to be on top of the layout plans of camera placements for the current scene and as the head of the camera crew reached without looking for the plans the hot coffee spilled onto the pages and ran down onto one pant leg of another man that happened to be staying there as well.

With the hot coffee hitting the pant leg and soaking through the material to touch bare skin, he yells at the same time as he reaches down his hands to try to move the cloth off of his leg, but, as he bends down to do this his butt bumps into another which happened to be a woman from the makeup department that was standing too close to the director, Demetri Oliveri, who happened to be talking with Edward while Kathrine was hovering around right behind to make sure she heard everything, or, at least, trying to make sure she heard everything, the two men were discussing.

The poor woman that was waiting to repair any necessary makeup for either of the two actors, and was the one that got the bump, tries to catch her balance, to no avail, as she falls into Demetri who is thrown forwards into Edward.

Now, Edward just happened to have a cold drink in his hand that had plenty of ice swimming around in the cup. And, when Demetri was thrown into Edward he tossed his drink, not paying any attention to where it was going as he freed his hands up to catch Demetri so neither of them would go down.

At the same time a loud screech could be heard behind Edward, but, the yell didn't happen to catch the attention of anyone at the immediate moment as Edward and Demetri were regaining their balance and the whole incident from beginning to end caught everyone present by surprise which led to a stunned silence by everyone. But, once they did manage to stay upright, the fact that the whole studio was silent and at a standstill did finally capture the attention of the two men. They turned to see what had caused the halt of others working and to see what was causing the sound of a cussing Kathrine Denali who was the only person that seemed to be animated and making the only noise.

It was quickly realized that when Edward had tossed his drink so he could free up his hands to catch Demetri it had gone in the direction of where Kathrine had taken herself. Both icy cold liquid and ice had managed to hit the lady in question who was sporting very little clothing due to the scene they were trying to film and it pissed her off to no end.

Of course, what had the whole studio quiet was what happened from the first incident leading up to her circumstances including all of the in between to the conclusion of Kathrine Denali's drenching and then they all were struggling extremely hard to hold back their own gleeful laughter of watching the 'wicked bitch of the set' getting an unexpected cool down. And the best part was that it came from the one person that she had set a target on his back and had it marked as being hers and hers alone.

Realizing once Edward and Demetri were stable and what had happened, both men tried to get the actress to calm down, but, with no results. But, what did finally shut the woman up was when Edward had had enough and grabbed a hold of her shoulders giving her a strong, single shaking and shouting, "Damn, woman, shut the hell up with all that screeching. You sound worse than a screech owl on its night prowl looking for a defenseless prey.

"However, if you do insist on continuing then get the hell out of here so the rest of us can have some kind of peace and quiet from your disgustingly annoying sounds and have a chance of saving what hearing of ours that you haven't damaged as yet. And, if that is what you decide to do then I would suggest that you grab some kind of clothing to hide your ugly assed body that is showing all of the alterations you've had done to it."

The yelling and shouting stopped abruptly as soon as Edward had grabbed Kathrine and told her what he did. In fact, she was totally stunned that he would even dare to speak to her as he had and to make matters worse, in front of others. Once she did regain her senses she raised her hand to slap Edward, but, he caught her hand before it was able to begin movement and as he was shaking his head no, told her, "I wouldn't if I was you. You might not like my reactions if your hand makes contact with any part of my body, especially, with my face since then I would be able to sue you for marring it and preventing me from finishing my movie." She jerked her hand out of his grasp and whirled around to march out of sight without saying another word to anyone, but, everyone had enough sense to stay away from the infuriated woman as she disappeared out of sight.

Once the sound of a door being slammed was heard it seemed that it was as if a release button had been pushed for everyone as they all gave out sigh of relief that was heard throughout the soundstage. Someone not knowing what had transpired would have sworn that it was one person that was rather loudly catching their breath. The next reaction by one and then by all, which started with an overheard snicker of one person and then was picked up by another and another until everyone was laughing outright. They were discussing everything that had happened and what they had seen happening. It was the releasing of all of the tension that had been apparent and was now dissolving with the departure of the shrew that was responsible for creating it in the first place from almost day one.

Edward kept an eye trained in the direction that the she bitch had disappeared, almost as if he thought she would reappear to wreck all sorts of damage upon everyone and everything in her path. But, he was snapped out of the trance he seemed to have fallen into by being slapped on the back. He turned to see who had done so and saw that it was Demetri who was laughter so hard as he was having trouble talking as he congratulated Edward on dealing with Kathrine.

Suddenly the sound of the heavy metal door to the soundstage could be heard opening as someone was entering the closed set. It didn't take long for everyone to see John Mathisson, the producer, was the person that had come onto the set. And, as he got closer and closer to Edward and Demetri they could see that he was trying extremely hard to keep a straight face, but, was having difficulty doing so as well. Something seemed to have tickled his funny bone.

"Does anyone care to tell me what the hell has crawled up Kathrine Denali's ass and is creating such havoc that she is so enraged?" He asked of no one in particular, but, was looking at both Edward and Demetri.

The two men looked at each other and then at John while trying very hard to maintain some kind of decorum, but, it didn't work. As soon as they looked at John they all burst out laughing so hard which reenacted the actions of everyone else around them. It was such a relief to be able to finally release with your fellow worker all of the tension that Kathrine had created in and around everyone that came in contact with her, directly or indirectly.

"Why, John, what is causing you to ask such a question of either of us?" Demetri countered while still trying to gain control of himself and his laughter.

"Oh, probably because I was already on my way over to see how the scene was going since there was a slight whisper reaching me that problems were happening that was keeping the scene from moving forward like it should. It was at that point I happened to cross the path of Kathrine Denali on my way over to check on things and she let loose on trying to rip me, and everyone else that she could name, a new asshole. She was accusing that everyone was trying to make it hard to do the scene and that Edward didn't seem to be able to concentrate on doing his part very well today.

"I did ask her what she thought the problem might be and she tried to accuse everyone, including the screenwriter, of interfering with her doing her best on making this project the best it could be. But, I had to offer a rebuttal about the screenwriter since the young lady wasn't even present on the set. To that she asked how did I know and I explained that I had just finished talking with the person in question before coming over to check on things here.

"I bet that information went over well with her." Edward commented as he mentally tried to picture John's conversation with Kathrine. But, as well, what John was saying about how Kathrine was trying to blame any mishaps on Bella was sending up more warning flags of how much more closely he and Bella needed to be careful of things. He was concerned about if Kathrine had figured out, like he had, that the story they were doing was a true story based on an event from Bella's life.

Over the next few minutes all three men, John, the producer, Demetri, the director and Edward, the star, discussed the latest incident with Kathrine and then moved on to other areas that concerned the making of the movie.

XXXXXX

"Where is she? Where is she?" Kathrine was demanding of any and every one she encountered as she went through the hall nearing the script department. And, of course, she wasn't paying any attention to the looks that people were giving her. She was acting as if she was a crazed individual set upon creating a scene while she's only half dressed as she was.

Kathrine hadn't paid any attention to what she had grabbed on the way out of the soundstage as she was set upon a course to get Bella Swan fired. Something that she seemed not to remember wouldn't be possible since Bella was the creator and screenwriter of the movie she had contracted to do.

Finally, she arrived at the doorway of the department that she was seeking and as she entered she spied her target immediately. She marched straight over to Bella who happened to have her back turned towards the mad woman at the moment she entered the office. As she grabbed Bella and spun her around Bella wasn't able to maintain her balance and fell into a corner of the filing cabinet where she had been standing as she was getting ready to open a drawer to search for a certain file.

Once Bella was fully facing Kathrine she raised her hand and slapped Bella fully with an open palm in the face. Then she told Bella, "Stay away from Edward Cullen. He and I have an understanding and I don't need you trying to worm your way into our relationship. So, heed my warning as this is the only time I will tell you.

"If you do continue to interfere then I'll be forced to take further actions that I don't think you or any of your family will be happy about." And with that said Kathrine went to turn away from Bella only to have Bella do the grabbing this time.

As Kathrine turned back around Bella told her, "If I'm involved with Edward Cullen and if he chooses not to continue that avenue then it would be up to him to tell me not you. Some two bit used up whore that doesn't know how to keep her legs crossed and her mouth shut."

Kathrine was so outraged that she raised her hand once more to hit Bella, but, this time Bella blocked the blow and instead delivered a left hook to Kathrine. That blow knocked the actress backwards and out of the office because of the force that was in the hit.

 **A/N: Although, Edward hadn't intended for Kathrine to be drenched with his drink she just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. But, to her it was everyone else's fault that she was made to look a fool. What do you think? Then to attack Bella; do you think Bella did the right thing?**

 **All thoughts and reviews are always welcome. Thanks for reading.**


	10. Chapter 10

**HOW I GOT HERE**

 **Disclaimer: The Cullen's, the Swans, and most of the characters mentioned in the story that are known from Stephanie Meyer's beloved Twilight Saga, are all hers and hers alone. I neither have nor wish to pass them off as mine. I do appreciate the fact that she did bring them to life and allows us to play with them in our imaginations. The only thing I will claim is the current storyline.**

 **The awesome and talented dowlingnana searched out my errors and corrected them.**

 _Kathrine was so outraged that she raised her hand once more to hit Bella, but, this time Bella blocked the blow and instead delivered a left hook to Kathrine. That blow knocked the actress backwards and out of the office because of the force that was in the hit._

 **CHAPTER 10: RELATIONSHIP OUTTED**

As Kathrine came flying out of the doorway into the hall, unfortunately, the people passing by were hit by the abrupt departure of the actress from the Script Department which resulted into a number of people landing in various positions upon the floor in, around and on top of the actress. Of course, this managed to fan the flames of her rage to an even greater extent.

Pushing and shoving her way to be able to gain her footing once more, Kathrine yelled, "I'll see you in hell for this. You will rue the day you ever laid a hand on me."

And, then she left with what little clothing she had been wearing which was now in tatters. She held her head high as she marched from the scene, but, still pushing anyone that crossed her path out of the way as if she was of greater importance than anyone else which made her superior and more deserving.

Kathrine wasn't thinking clearly at the moment, but, she knew that somehow, someway, she'd get even with that lowly, ugly bitch that had managed to embarrass her and to dare to put hands on her.

However, due to the pain that she was beginning to feel Kathrine was aware of that fact that she needed to see a doctor immediately. She needed to make sure no damage had been done that would prevent her from fulfilling her contract to finish this movie. It was extremely important that she be able to continue making this movie; Edward Cullen was her ticket to all the things in life that she thought she deserved. It was just too bad that her sister didn't know how to hang on to the Cullen gold mine, but, Kathrine felt that she knew and was determined to have him within her clutches permanently.

So, she continued on to the medical building that existed on the grounds for emergencies of all kinds that happened during filming in the back lots and on the sound stages. She had to make sure no permanent damage was done and then to sit down and find a way to get even with the bitch that was trying to worm her way into Edward's affections.

XXXXXX

Meanwhile, all of Bella's coworkers gathered around her inquiring if she was okay. They all at the same time questioned about why Denali was so incited with Bella? Then the next question dealt with the pink elephant in the room, "Are you and Edward Cullen really dating? When and how did that happen? Why is it that no one has known about this?"

All of these questions were rapidly fired at Bella, one right after the other, before she even had a chance to answer the first one. And, truth be told Bella wasn't sure how to answer them. On one level she still wanted to stay under the radar, but, after this she didn't believe that that would be possible. But, on another level she was starting to get tired of the way she and Edward were always having to try to think of some place to go that wouldn't have the media hanging around. The secrecy was starting to get on her nerves at times. So, this might turn out to be a good thing.

But, she needed to let Edward know what had happened and what was about to happen before it caught him by surprise. Of course, both families needed to be warned of their relationship as well and that was something Bella was a bit hesitant to involve her father. Charlie could be scary as hell when it came to his baby girl.

Yeah, she did definitely need to talk with Charlie quickly since she wouldn't put it pass any of her coworkers or bitch Denali racing to release the information to the media just for their fifteen minutes of fame. And, Bella was very much aware of how her dad would react if he found out about her relationship from some other source than from her directly.

Again, it was necessary to inform her father because of the subject of the story that was being filmed. Charlie had been comfortable with her doing the story and, even, when he was told that it was going to be made into a movie he experienced no problems, however, with everything going to the media for a different reason; people would start doing some deeper digging with a relationship surrounding such a popular actor as Edward Cullen being released.

Bella remained silent even though everyone else around her was clamoring for answers to their questions. She was weighing in her mind who should be contacted first: her father or Edward. Finally, she decided her dad since he was further away and Edward was close enough to deal with anything that might be said before she could alert him to the situation. He was used to handling such invasions, but, Charlie wasn't, so, in her mind that made the call to him a bit more pressing.

So, with only giving vague answers while slowly working her way back to her office through the crowd that had circled around her, Bella was going to call her dad first. And, once she did manage to get into her office she quickly closes the door, sat down at her desk, pulled out her cell since she didn't want to take the chance that someone might be listening into her conversation and dialed Charlie's phone number at the Fork's Police Station.

XXXXXX

Meanwhile, it didn't take long for the news that Kathrine Denali had been seen entering the medical building just a short while ago and she appeared to be holding a shaky hand to her face.

But, that wasn't all. Information leaked over to a crew member that was working on Edward's sound stage about a standoff that had happened in the Script Department between a department head and Kathrine Denali and the fact that the Denali bitch had been handed a bit of a sit down; more or less, had been put in her place by a department head in the Script Department.

This information filtered through to others on the sound stage and Edward happened to catch part of the conversation that was taking place amongst the crew. He became curious enough, the same as Demetri, to ask for the full story. And, once the name of the department head was mentioned Edward shot off of the set as quickly as he could after he got himself more presentable to be able to go out in public view.

He rushed over to the Script Department to get the full story and to make sure that Bella was okay. But, as he rushed into the department he was brought up to a full stop because of the scene that met his eyes. Everyone was busily talking about the incident and laughing their asses off, figuratively speaking. He found it very hard not to be amused by what he was hearing from the various individuals who happened to be present during the whole confrontation and they described who did what to whom and it seemed that Kathrine was the one that came off worse than Bella. However, this didn't prevent him from wanting to check on Bella to make sure she was okay.

So, as he was standing inside the doorway his eyes searched the room to try and find Bella, but, not seeing her he started to become worried about whether she had been hurt, even though, what everyone was saying Kathrine came off on the losing end. He still needed to make sure for himself.

That was damn important to him. And, as soon as he had realized what he had just told himself, it brought him up short from the shock of what that meant to him; he cared more than he had realized about this woman that he had been keeping hidden from the gossiping media. It was then that he also made a promise to himself that if Kathrine had done anything to hurt his Bella he would have no conscious about destroying Denali.

He had felt that way after what had happened with Irina and knew, but, couldn't prove it, that Kathrine had been behind Irina's behavior to a certain extent. However, he knew, though, that Irina had allowed herself to be used, but, they both had been under the illusion that he was so blindly in love with Irina that he wouldn't make waves. How wrong they both had been about him.

It only took a few months of marriage to Irina for the true reasons of why she had married him to come to light. But, the main reason he had married her was because she had told him of her pregnancy and he wanted his child to have his name. Although, he hadn't told his family that news, he was constantly bombarded while he and Irina had been dating with their opinions of what they had believed that she truly was and he just didn't want to believe them as he thought he knew best how to live his life.

But, after a bit he began to question even if there was a child because due to Irina's actions and the little things she said. She never acted as if she was pregnant. But, she acted like she believed that once they were married that everything would work out, however, it wasn't until he really pressed the issue that she finally admitted to the lie.

Irina was spending a lot of money, but, not on baby items and was spending a lot of time with Kathrine, but, the finally the break came when he caught her in their marriage bed having a threesome with some greasy looking guy and Kathrine. That was when everything his family had told him came home to roost and he felt like such a fool. It was the few months of marriage that had led to how he started being very careful of the people he had allowed to be around him socially and he was acting as a playboy. That is until he happened to see his Bella.

As he had reached this point in his quick walk down memory lane and noticed that Bella's office door was closed. He made his way over to the door, paused for a moment as he was sincerely praying that she was on the other side and was okay, so, he did open it and saw her seated at her desk on the phone talking with someone.

"Yes, Dad, I'm okay, but, due to the situation and I don't know who might leak the information, like I told you, I just wanted to let you know ahead of time what might be happening." Bella told her father which let Edward know who she was talking to, even though, she wasn't aware at the moment that he was standing just inside her office at the doorway. She was listening to what was being said on the other end of the line and then responded once more, "Yeah, I do believe that it's a relationship that I'm very serious about. And, I can definitely assure you that he isn't anything like what you would expect a successfully, popular actor like he is, to be."

Something at the moment, some small movement by Edward, or, sound, drew her attention over to the doorway. She saw who it was and smiled as she motioned for him to come on in and to take a seat. "Yeah, I love you too. Oh, and, Dad, would you please call Mom and let her know what's going on?

"Uhu….No, I think it would come better from you. She would have too many questions that I really don't want to try to answer, if you know what I mean. Thanks." And with that she ended the conversation and turned towards Edward with a warm, welcoming smile.

He smiled back and then got serious as he asked, "What the hell was Kathrine doing over here creating problems? What happened? What did she say and do?" he fired question after question at her.

Bella explained to him all that had occurred concerning all of the actions from both women. Then she explained why she took a moment to call her dad about what had happened, at least, she told him the general reasoning of why she had called her dad before calling Edward.

Edward looked at her for a second before he quietly commented, "I wish that I'd been the number one priority on your list to call, but, I do understand why you felt you had to call your dad first. He needed to be aware of any possible digging into you and your family's background and since this story we're doing has to do with your dad's past I would say that he might need to double check any safeguards that he has in place."

Now, those comments startled Bella before she asked, "How did you know?"

"Oh, believe me, it wasn't that obvious, but, after I did try googling you and doing some research which turned up very little, I came to the conclusion that I just stated. But, I did decide that I wasn't going to try to do any further searching and just give you time to tell me on your own when you were ready."

Bella got up and walked around her desk and when she reached Edward she bent down and gently gave him a kiss before asking, "And how do you feel about what you know?"

 **A/N: Well, was it the right thing to do to call Charlie first, or, should she have told Edward before calling her dad? What do you think of how Edward handled everything? Is Kathrine or someone else going to leak the information about Bella's and Edward's relationship?**

 **All thoughts and reviews are always welcome. Thanks for reading.**


	11. Chapter 11

**HOW I GOT HERE**

 **Disclaimer: The Cullen's, the Swans, and most of the characters mentioned in the story that are known from Stephanie Meyer's beloved Twilight Saga, are all hers and hers alone. I neither have nor wish to pass them off as mine. I do appreciate the fact that she did bring them to life and allows us to play with them in our imaginations. The only thing I will claim is the current storyline.**

 **The awesome and talented dowlingnana searched out my errors and corrected them.**

" _Oh, believe me, it wasn't that obvious, but, after I did try googling you and doing some research which turned up very little, I came to the conclusion that I just stated. But, I did decide that I wasn't going to try to do any further searching and just give you time to tell me on your own when you were ready."_

 _Bella got up and walked around her desk and when she reached Edward she bent down gently gave him a kiss before asking, "And how do you feel about what you know?"_

 **CHAPTER 11: COMING UP ROSES WITH SOME THORNS**

Bella's instincts proved to be accurate: the relationship did make it into the spotlight and the fact that Kathrine Denali was paying a visit to the med department wasn't missed, either. There happened to be an 'E' reporter on the lot interviewing a different actor on a neighboring soundstage when the buzz of what had happened in the Script Department had started making the rounds. The information that a screenwriter had popped the shit out of diva Denali was news big time and not meant to be missed. This was a chance to get a big scoop, an exclusive, along with footage concerning what had happened. Then what seemed to be at the heart of the matter was Edward Cullen and a whispered, possible, serious relationship with an unknown lady.

There was so much news that was now being whispered about the romance and that somehow Kathrine Denali was threatening Edward's love interest and all hinted that a cat fight had taken place which was the reason that diva Denali made a trip to the medical department. It seems that she might have come out on the wrong end of a hit.

Ending the interview that she was currently assigned, Maggie Townsend made her way over to the medical section to see if she could gather any information from there, and, she wasn't disappointed. The whole place seemed to be discussing nothing else, but, the bruise that was beginning to appear upon Kathrine Denali's chin. And, the actress in question could be heard throughout the entire complex raising hell with any and all that came in contact with her.

Maggie and her cameraman were catching everything that could be overheard or seen before anyone told them to get lost. And they weren't disappointed in catching a glimpse of the actress and the new slowly appearing bruise. Maggie didn't waste any time in trying to interview the woman in question, but, Kathrine Denali wasn't in the mood to appear on camera at this particular time since she wasn't made up to look her best.

And, as Kathrine opened her mouth to give Maggie the verbal abuse she intended to do she closed her mouth just as quickly when an idea flash as bright as a lightbulb being flipped on. This would be her chance to start having public opinion against the ugly bitch that was trying to worm her way into Edward's life. So, Kathrine took a deep breath and allowed Maggie to begin interviewing her while making sure that her bruising was being captured the whole time.

Kathrine's plan was to make herself appear as the victim and to make the ugly bitch appear as the intruder, the boyfriend stealer, a gold digger that is out to use Edward for no other reason than to advance her own station in life. With this first interview with a nationally viewed entertainment program the impact will be well worth the embarrassment and will cause a great deal of trouble for the ugly bitch. Public opinion will have a lot of sway in pulling Edward back into line of where he should be in the first place: with her, Kathrine Denali.

In Kathrine's mind this will bring Edward back to where he's supposed to be, under her control once more and her stupid sister wouldn't have to be involved. Irina was stupid in how she handled things when she was married to Edward and the Denali's had full access to all of that money. But, with not being careful enough she even lost the chance to receive alimony from the divorce. She ended up with nothing; correction, they all ended up with nothing and it was only after Kathrine was starting to be accredited with successful movies that she started receiving the dollars that went with her fame and took her to the financial status she believed to be her due. Of course, she had used others, behind the scenes, that had the influence to throw her into the limelight.

True, Kathrine did have plenty of talent, but, she wasn't content to move forwards on that alone. She felt that her talent wouldn't move her fast enough, or, bring her to the attention of others that would have the greatest effect for her career or finances. She had heard and seen others that had talent, more talent than her, that never got a chance to do a damn thing. And, having viewed this she was afraid to depend on her talent only and became determined that that wasn't the road she wanted to risk traveling. That's why she did things the way she did, but, at the same time, to be honest, she was spoilt as hell since she had the looks of the family.

XXXXXX

Bella found herself still fighting public opinion at times, even now, three months later after Kathrine Denali started her shit storm of lies about Bella's and Edward's relationship. She and Edward were hounded every which way they turned in the very beginning after that first surprised interview that Kathrine gave to the 'E' reporter and it had been aired on television. And, bless his loving heart, Edward did everything he could to protect her and to get the story straight. It was tough going, but, eventually, the furor seemed to be dying down to a great degree, but, not completely gone. Some remark or picture would still make the gossip magazines or entertainment shows whenever media caught sight of the two together and at times, alone.

Edward and Kathrine had finished filming and each had moved on to doing other things that was demanded of them in their careers until it was time to do the promotion deals for the movie. But, until then each had promotion appearances, photo shoots and interviews that were demanded to help stir up interest in each of their movies that were scheduled for Red Carpet releases in the immediate future and thank goodness it wasn't a film that they had done together.

But, because of what Kathrine started it was known that never again would Edward Cullen do another film with the diva bitch. Edward demanded that it be known and written into any contract that he might sign for doing any other projects. Kathrine Denali was to be considered persona non grata on any set that Edward was scheduled to be on. He was very vocal in that demand from the time he found out what Kathrine had tried to do to Bella, even more so once her interview condemning Bella's intentions towards Edward by lying to the 'E' reporter and then all of the harassment that followed the airing of that interview. And he wasn't too choosey about the words he used to express his demand.

During the three months of the shit storm of lies several things had happened which delighted the hell out of Bella. She and Edward had made a trip to Forks, Washington, on the quiet side, so Edward and Charlie Swan could meet each other. At first that meeting was a bit awkward, but, once Charlie saw how much Edward treasured his daughter the cautious, awkwardness disappeared and the two men got along great. The visit went well and Charlie was confident that his daughter was with a man worthy of her affections.

And, of course, after Bella's call to Charlie the day that she clocked Kathrine on the chin, Renee made a call to her daughter to get all, really ALL, of the details. During that conversation, and several since, there had been a lot of squealing going on from Renee's side of the conversation. She continued gushing about her baby's great success and good future, both in Bella's career and the roping, her words not Bella's, in a man like Edward Cullen.

Next, Bella was finally introduced to Edward's family and the warm welcome that she had received made her feel as if she had always been part of the family. And, the reception his family gave Bella let Edward know that in following his heart he had made the right choice. It was a choice that he was determined that would last a lifetime; he was that in love with Bella.

It was all so very different than when he had brought Irina home to meet the family. That time was a lot of stiff conversation, question and answer sessions and awkward silences along with side glances, small shaking of the head no, all of it making things very uncomfortable. And it wasn't just the first time of meeting Irina, but, each time he and Irina came for a visit.

And, lastly, Edward and Bella were getting even closer to each other. He had asked her just a couple of nights ago to move in with him, or, to let him move in with her while he sold his house and they took the time to find a new house, their home, together.

Edward had learned the hard way where Bella was concerned that it was always best to make a suggestion and then to continue on with something else without pushing her for an immediate answer. If pushed Bella would tell him no, but, if given time to think things through and to be able, in her own way, to consider the consequences then she would usually say yes, if she could.

So, he waited and waited for her answer about moving in together and finding a house they could make into a home. He would make sure that she knew, and any children they might be blessed with, that each was loved beyond reason. And, as he would wait Edward realized that the only fly in the ointment was that he hadn't asked her yet to marry him.

Each time he thought about it he would clam up, never to get the words out: he was afraid. Afraid that she would say no and then cut him out of her life entirely. And, she would do that just to avoid any pain for either of them by being in close contact with one another. He couldn't afford to take that chance, so, he remained quiet and afraid. He would be damned if he would lose the greatest treasure of his life by speaking too soon: his Bella and her love.

At the same time, though, Edward knew he could wait while he worked through his hesitation. By doing that he had the chance to strengthen his case by making sure that she fell more deeply in love with him and never wanted to leave. Time, in a way, was on his side and he knew in the end he would win. He just had to get over his pansy assed fear. He knew that Bella wasn't an Irina and that he was going to have a lifetime of happiness with Bella. She was not the brass ring, but, the golden prize of a lifetime that would extend to beyond a thousand lifetimes or more.

XXXXXX

Everything has now fallen into a pattern, not one that Edward was completely happy with, but, one that he had had to accept. It is coming up to their year anniversary and he was determined to ask Bella to marry him. He was tired of going back and forth to her place and then returning, lonely and alone, to his big empty house. When he had asked, nine months ago, about them moving in together Bella had said no after giving it considerable thought. To say that he was disappointed would be an understatement, but, he did understand her reasoning.

If they moved in together it would just fuel up the lies that Kathrine had spoken and had released the hounds of hell, the news media, down upon them. Bella was determined that she wouldn't go through that again. People were starting to accept them being together and working together, in a sense, without all of the gossip flying around that border lined on slander.

But, tonight was going to be different; tonight was going to be the night that all of his dreams and wishes came true at one time: he was going to propose and knew in his heart of hearts that she was going to say yes.

 **A/N: Okay, Kathrine has really shown her true colors in this chapter. However, Edward and Bella has moved on while at the same time dealing with Kathrine and her nonsense. Edward is determined that he isn't going to lose Bella no matter what.**

 **All thoughts and reviews are always welcome. Thanks for reading.**


	12. Chapter 12

**HOW I GOT HERE**

 **Disclaimer: The Cullen's, the Swans, and most of the characters mentioned in the story that are known from Stephanie Meyer's beloved Twilight Saga, are all hers and hers alone. I neither have nor wish to pass them off as mine. I do appreciate the fact that she did bring them to life and allows us to play with them in our imaginations. The only thing I will claim is the current storyline.**

 **The awesome and talented dowlingnana searched out my errors and corrected them.**

 _But, tonight was going to be different; tonight was going to be the night that all of his dreams and wishes came true at one time: he was going to propose and knew in his heart of hearts that she was going to say yes._

 **CHAPTER 12: PAIN AND JOY COME WITH TIME**

Sitting and thinking back over the last two years since he and his Bella were married and all that had gotten them to this point; his Bella was giving birth to their twin sons, but, things weren't going all as planned and Edward feared that he was going to lose the love of his life. If that happened how would he raise two boys all on his own? Of course, he knew that he would have the support of the families from both sides, but, that did nothing to stop his gut wrenching fear he was experiencing deep in the very soul of him.

On their one year anniversary of dating Edward had proposed to Bella and she said yes. She didn't hesitate, didn't suggest that she needed to think about it, or, offer any other excuse; she just said yes with tears of joy filling her eyes and unashamedly running down her face that held the biggest smile he had ever seen which, he swore, outshone the sun. They both wanted a short engagement and were married two months later after he had finished his current project he was working on at that time and was signed to begin filming another with little break between completion of one and the starting of the next one.

Bella had proven herself to be quite a writer with a great imagination and abilities of adapting other materials and with her ability to be able to manage her small sectional department she had been rapidly promoted within her department to where she was no longer the head of just a small section of the script department handling just a few weekly shows and small rewrites of some scripts that needed reversion. No, now she was in charge of finding new material and then developing scripts. She found stories from the news, talking with people around her and from new releases of books, but, this didn't stop Bella from working on her own project in her spare time; a project that didn't require she share credits with the original author of the material or of another screenwriter within the department.

Edward was constantly supporting and encouraging her to create another story. Her first story had won many nominations, but, no Oscars. However, he kept teasing her about wanting to star in another film of his wife's creation. That her story would help to make a name for himself. Bella would just laugh and shake her head while saying that his name was already in bright lights and he was a star within his own right. He would laugh along with her, but, would tell her that it was her turn and that he wanted her star to shine brighter than his.

Of course, the media had brought up the old story that Kathrine Denali had started and, still after that, would continue on and off to spout her nonsense to anyone that would listen and that would be desperate enough for a filler story. But, there was nothing that she tried that swayed public opinion when Edward and Bella had announced their engagement and pending wedding.

Once that was announced all media sources began vying for the rights to be able to have an exclusive to cover the event, but, it all was for naught. Since it was decided that it would be a very private affair with an exclusive guest list and would be held at an unknown location all details were handled quietly. Strangely enough they had managed to pull it off until the last moment before the media found out where the wedding was going to be, but, the laugh was on them since that knowledge came about without giving them enough time to get a team on site to cover it.

The wedding was held in the bride's hometown with only the family of both, close friends and close business associates being invited. The guests numbered a mere one hundred total and each had managed to arrive at their destination without giving anything away. The enjoyment of the bride, groom and all of their guests over having pulled off such a secret could be heard in the various comments floating around the reception and the laughter that followed over having outwitted the media for a change.

The media was further frustrated when the honeymoon location was also discovered to be a closely guarded secret, even from the bride, but, in the long run they had all of the privacy they had needed for that time together. However, it was a very short amount of time they had spent on the family's private island since Edward was due to start filming a new project within a matter of days after the wedding.

Little did anyone know that with Kathrine's constantly trying to stir up trouble and to drive a wedge between the couple that she was actually about to launch a storm that she didn't envision in the least. Certain parties that were thought to have been dealt with long ago, but, most of the heads had really gone further underground, were starting to pay attention to what was being said, so, they were starting to study certain aspects of the movie, _TIME EVERLASTING._ They were curious about how the story matched certain events that had definitely occurred in the past, so, they decided to start doing a deeper investigation to see if their suspicions were correct.

XXXXXX

Edward's thoughts of the past were quickly pulled back to the present as he saw his father walking into the door of the maternity waiting room. Everyone, but, Carlisle, Edward's dad, had been banned from the room when it became apparent that something was going wrong with the delivery of the twins. Both mother and children were becoming extremely stress; her blood pressure going up rapidly and their heartbeats dropping just as quickly. Everyone began working to handle the situation while a nurse ushered all family members out of the room. It was requested by Edward that his father be allowed to remain to represent the family since he was a doctor.

With Carlisle's entrance, everyone rushed forward and gathered around him wanting to hear what all he had to say without waiting to hear it secondhand. Carlisle's expression wasn't one that seemed to encourage a sigh of relief, but, one of cautious fear and dread. But, with a heavy sigh and a visible bracing of his shoulders, he said, "The boys have been safely delivered, but, now they're having problems with Bell with trying to get the bleeding stopped and that is leading to further complications with possible decisions that will have to be made to try to save Bella."

"What type of decisions, Dad?" Edward asked before anyone else could utter the question.

"At this point I don't want to say anything further until I know for sure that nothing else can be done. That will be up to her doctor to talk to you about that, if it comes to that. He would know more and have all of the facts to give to you so an informed decision can be made. Of course, I'm informing you of this in case Bella isn't able to make the decision herself. You, Edward, being the next of kin, will be the one that will be asked to make the decision in her place."

He continued to give them all the information about the twins, birth weight, length and let them know that the boys were completely healthy. "You all will be able to see them shortly at the nursery and I have to say they are beautiful. A nurse will come get you when they are ready to be seen." And, with that said he turned and left them all while he returned to his daughter's in law room.

Edward was in a constant state of worry, fear of what could be and what is at the moment, trying to plan for the future, but, not sure how to do that since he has no idea what the future is going to look like. He really didn't want a future without his Bella, but, at the same time he had their sons to worry about. This wasn't something that had been planned for, or, foreseen by either of them so they could discuss and make plans for such an eventuality. Everything with the pregnancy had been going along just fine that no one had any idea that things would swing around on a dime to bring matters to this point of him possibly losing his wife; the love of his life. How can he correct it? Damn, how can it even be corrected? These were just two of the many questions running around in his head.

Edward wasn't sure how long he had been buried in his questions before his mother touched his arm to jerk him back to the present once more. She pointed towards the door at the nurse that was standing there patiently waiting for something. He looked down at his mother and she said, "The nurse is waiting to take you to see your sons. Is it all right if we come with you, or, would you rather go see them alone for the first time?"

He didn't answer immediately, but, when he did he told her, "If you don't mind I rather the rest of you, for now, go while I wait here in case there's more news of Bella's condition, or, a decision is needed to be made that could save her life."

"Edward, I think you should go and take Chief Swan and Mrs. Dwyer with you. They want to see their grandbabies and I know you want to be able to tell Bella how well the boys are doing once you get to see her." Esme told her boy.

He looked at his mother as if she had lost her mind then glanced over to see Bella's parents and noticed the strained expressions they each were trying very hard to control. Normally Chief Swan was a very controlled individual each time Edward had had any contact with him, but, at the moment he was fighting to keep that control. And, Bella's mom was just an emotional wreck and that was saying something since she was always hyper like Alice; there wasn't any other way to describe how she was doing under the current circumstances.

Edward's sister, Alice, walked over to him and laid a hand on his arm as she said, "Edward, go see your sons. There's nothing more that can be done here at the moment and they'll know where to find you if you're needed. However, I think you should know that everything is going to turning out all right in the long run. So, go and enjoy your babies.

"Once you get back and Bella is declared safe then you two can tell us what you've decided to name the boys." She finished speaking with a gentle smile.

Of course, all Edward did was look at his sister like she had lost her mind, but, at the same time he knew better than to make any remarks or to question her; she had been proven right too many times in the past about things. All he did do was to shake his head from side to side as if trying to awaken from a bad dream, turned to Bella's parents and asked if they would like to accompany him to the nursery to see the boys.

The three did go to the nursery and seemed to have lost track of time for a bit, but, was quickly reminded of another love one that was fighting for life when a nurse came to get Edward. She let him know that he was needed by the doctor as soon as possible. And, with that said Edward didn't waste any time returning to the waiting room so he could speak with the doctor.

Once he arrived the only people he saw were his family which included his father. Within a matter of minutes after Edward had returned both Charlie and Renee were coming into the waiting room since they wanted to know what was going on with their daughter's condition also.

Carlisle explained that the doctor had to return to help Bella since her condition was still extremely dire, but, the situation was such that Bella was unconscious and an okay was needed to perform an emergency hysterectomy. "Son, that means that unless you and Bella adopt there will be no more children, but, it is believed that this will save her life."

"Then what the hell are you waiting for?" Edward demanded to know. That was all of the okay Carlisle needed to hear before he returned to Bella's room to let her doctor know.

It seemed to be forever before Carlisle returned once more to let everyone know that Bella was safe. The surgery had been a success and the bleeding had been stopped and that Bella was now out of danger and had been moved to the recovery room. "Give them a while and a nurse will come get you when you can go see her, son. Just be patient a while longer, all of you."

While it turned out that Alice had been correct once again and Bella was okay. Both she and Edward decided that two healthy boys were all the children they would need for now. Her recovery had been quick and the boys, Charles Emery, who was the oldest by four minutes, Carlisle Jason, were formally introduced to all of the family once Bella had been moved to a private room.

It wasn't long before Bella was completely recovered and back to work again, the same as Edward, and they both were enjoying life with their babies. But, no one had any idea that tragedy was running towards them at a rapid pace. Only a few months' reprieve and then all hell was going to break loose once more.

 **A/N: Are you starting to see how Kathrine's nonsense is causing greater problems than what anyone knew?**

 **All thoughts and reviews are always welcome. Thanks for reading.**


	13. Chapter 13

**HOW I GOT HERE**

 **Disclaimer: The Cullen's, the Swans, and most of the characters mentioned in the story that are known from Stephanie Meyer's beloved Twilight Saga, are all hers and hers alone. I neither have nor wish to pass them off as mine. I do appreciate the fact that she did bring them to life and allows us to play with them in our imaginations. The only thing I will claim is the current storyline.**

 **The awesome and talented dowlingnana searched out my errors and corrected them.**

 _It wasn't long before Bella was completely recovered and back to work again, the same as Edward, and they both were enjoying life with their babies. But, no one had any idea that tragedy was running towards them at a rapid pace. Only a few months' reprieve and then all hell was going to break loose once more._

 **CHAPTER 13: HEARTACHE KNOCKING**

Life seemed sweet and moving forwards at an enjoyable pace for both Edward and Bella. Their boys were growing and healthy. The couple, if asked, would have responded that life was good; now.

Of course, during the time Bella was healing after delivering the boys and then having to have emergency surgery that resulted in her never being able to carry any more children, was a difficult time for everyone. She felt guilty that she wouldn't be able to give Edward any more children that was a combination of their love for one another. It didn't matter that Edward told her that it wasn't that important since he still had her and they had the twins. It was then he continued explaining that there were so many children in the world that had no one to love them and to teach them how to bring light to the world and that he was just as happy to be able to adopt.

But, although, Bella agreed with this point of view consciously, it did nothing to relieve her of the guilt she carried silently within her heart. She felt that her body had let her down and betrayed her since she had lost the ability to reproduce for the future of their family, that she was cheating Edward out of a future of having more children of his bloodline. And, as much as she thought that she was concealing these feelings from her husband, that thought was a complete failure. Edward was very much aware that his Bella was withdrawing more within herself.

She was outgoing and putting up a good front of acting around others and even, Edward would have been convinced if it hadn't been for the fact that he knew her so well. From the time they had first met and then started dating he was constantly learning about her: her thoughts, ideas, reaction to things, likes and dislikes, even, her fears and her joys; absolutely everything and that meant he learned how to read her. At times, it was as if he could read her thoughts.

But, as time passed and Bella realized, eventually, what was happening to her, she did seek help and overcame her feelings of loss, uselessness and that she was no longer a whole woman and the fact that she had developed a hatred for her own body. So, as she did begin to heal, truly heal, she accepted facts as they were and began to live again. She accepted the fact that, even though, she wasn't able to produce any more children, she was alive to begin to enjoy watching her boys grow and to be able to help them learn; to be able to help shape them, hopefully, into men that had value of all things rightfully earned in life. That was a gift that she learned to embrace as strongly as her loving husband embraced her and their boys.

With Bella getting back to normal mentally and healthwise, she fully picked up the reins of her job and her writing with a new vigor. And, it was because of her own struggles that she decided to do a story about a woman's journey, as well as her family's, of dealing with the emotional upheaval that has to be dealt with to regain a balance in life once again after a traumatic experience such as an unplanned hysterectomy.

She discussed the idea with Edward and he was totally in favor of her doing it. He felt that by doing this project that it would help to complete her recovery of what they went through. However, he did suggest that she make it a more traumatic experience, to maybe, combine the loss of a child and the emergency surgery together into one storyline.

In fact, he felt that it would be a project that he would want to do since he did have personal knowledge and experience in one area that he would be able to draw upon to help him to be able to portray the husband's side of that journey. And, he also felt that it could be an Oscar for the both of them if he can manage to give the full emotionally felt meaning to her words. Of course, the choice of female lead would have equal value of bringing the story to life.

XXXXXX

During all of this time certain groups were finishing up their investigation of the facts and checking out the events covered in the story of _Time Everlasting_ and what they were discovering was about to change a good many peoples' lives.

Even though, Bella had done a good job of hiding the truth of the whole incident and Charlie had given his okay after reading the script before it had ever been submitted, it seems that certain key facts drew the interest of some of the persons that had been involved in, or, aware of the happening of trying to get a hold of Charlie's family at that time. There were a few trigger points that brought the incident back to mind and the need to seek revenge.

And, little did Kathrine realize that it was her crusade to separate Edward and Bella that really started the deeper look at the people she was badgering and that was what led them into checking out the movie. A big conference was planned to deliver the facts that had been uncovered, so, a decision could be made as to what action was needed and who the act would be against as a means of retribution. Who would be the one that would draw the most attention to be hitting home of why such action was taking place and to let the person it was directly aimed know that he had been discovered.

XXXXXX

Kathrine was bitter about how things had turned out when she was trying to separate her rival from her target. The way things turned out, Kathrine was the one left looking like a rejected, bitter fool. She was at times, ridiculed, poked fun of and accused of being jealous by the media. Then to make matters worse she was said to be crazy by imagining that any sort of relationship had existed between her and Edward Cullen. All evidence point to just the opposite being the case.

The media did discover that Edward and Kathrine's sister, Irina Howard, had been married back in their college years. But, the reason for the divorce wasn't discovered and they tried questioning Irina to find out what had gone wrong. However, Irina would only say that it had been a mistake on both sides and that she was now happily married. With all of that coming to light, the media assumed that Kathrine was nursing a case of sour grapes still.

But, in spite, of all of that, Kathrine refused to give up and made every effort to be at the same places that Edward and Bella were. She even tried at times to make Bella look like a fool, but, it always backfired on her. And, as Kathrine would pull these stunts it would again bring forth the original story that she had spread about Bella stalking Edward. And, once again, except for a few media outlets, Kathrine always would end up having the unflattering comments made about her instead of Bella.

Then to make matters even more difficult, she was now being offered parts of being a jealous shrew in the movies; she realized she was being typed cast by how the media was referring to her in real life. Oh, good parts came her way as well, but, if it turned out to be one that Edward was interested in doing, Kathrine was completely bypassed, even though, she would have been right for the part. All of this was because of Edward refusing to ever work with her on any movie after _Time Everlasting_ and the mischief, as he phrased it, that she pulled during the filming of that movie.

All of this did nothing to endear the happy couple to her and only made her more resolved to find a way to make Edward's and Bella's, especially Bella's, life a living hell and a permanent nightmare. Little did she know that her dearest wishes were about to be fulfilled in a manner that she had never dreamed would happen.

XXXXXX

Bella worked on her script and Edward read it over to give his honest opinion. He was blown away by the emotion presented in the story as it delivered the pain from both the man and the woman. It told of what each had silently gone through, but, also, revealed the verbal arguments that became part of their experiences. In fact, it was so well done that Edward told his wife, to see if she would object, that he wanted to try his hand as a director and being the male lead in the story. She was delighted that he felt that strongly about her story and was very supportive of his wants. So, as all the arrangements began to move forwards towards Edward making his directorial debut, Bella was happy being fully engulfed with her work at the studio.

Bella, as a way to show her complete support and trust of her husband, left all decisions in his hands. She gave him full control and refused to have anything to do with the decisions except for the script rewrites, as Edward might feel was needed to move the story along. And, it totally surprised him that she was showing her trust in him in this manner.

Bella was aware that Edward had aided the director on a few of his past movies during filming and editing, so, she had no fear of agreeing to let him try his hand at directing. He had been learning from other directors and had also taken a study course since that was the direction he was wanting to take his career now that he was married and the twins were born. He was wanting more time at home than what he had as an actor. But, all of this was leading to his main desire of starting a production company of their own.

Edward felt that with their combined talents they would make a success of it. It would also help to incorporate his family's many talents into making the company a success for all of them. And, now that his Bella had agreed to entrust her current baby into his hands he was determined to make it a blockbuster hit.

So, as Edward assumed the responsibilities of making the movie from beginning to end, to bring Bella's script to life, Bella was busy at work in her script department and taking care of the boys: her three boys.

Everything was peaceful on the homefront, at least, for the present time, but, that was quickly about to change. There was no warning, nothing suspected of being wrong or out of place; just nothing to alert anyone about what was about to happen.

XXXXXX

"So, we're all in agreement that instead of doing anything to the Swan family we go after the one that would bring the most lasting pain to all involved from the Phoenix incident."

"I believe that going after Edward Cullen would bring the most impact to all involved. After we have dealt the blow then we can quietly inform, by an indirect route, that what happened was retribution for the past. It will let Charlie Swan know that it and his actions hadn't been forgotten like he seems to have thought they had been."

"It will take time to get everything organized and set in motion, but, I will choose people we can trust to do the deed."

"How long will it take?"

"Just a couple of month or a little longer; no more than six, I would say. We will need to study their habits and learn how we can get close enough to have everything in place."

"Do it. The only time I want to hear anything else about this is when I read of it in the papers or hear about it on the news."

XXXXXX

Everything seemed to be going great with filming, but, all of a sudden things started going wrong. It went from the script being screwed up at times, to the lighting equipment creating problems, to actors being quarrelsome for some reason, and then some scenes got misplaced and those had to be redone. Everything going wrong started off small to where it wasn't really noticed at first, or, was just shrugged off, then it gradually grew into things getting bigger and bigger as time went on.

It was really stressing Edward out and it was showing in his temper. He would come home impatient, worn out and would snap at Bella whenever she asked a question or asked him to do something. The arguing got so bad that they were considering spending some time apart, but, neither really wanted to take that step. It seemed as if it was admitting defeat.

Then one morning after Edward had pulled an all-nighter to get a handle on getting the movie and the budget back on track, he came home exhausted. Of course, Bella had the boys ready to go and was going to be dropping them off at Carlisle's and Esme's for the day while she was at work.

As it so happened Bella accidently bumped into Edward and spilled her coffee on him and this set off another argument between the two. Edward had noticed that his car was parked in the driveway and demanded to know why Bella was using it instead of her own.

"I told you that my car was giving me problems and that I had to have it put in the shop to be worked on. I didn't see a problem using your car since you're using a driving service at the moment."

"You could at least have asked instead of assuming that you have a right to use what belongs to me personally." And, with that said he stomped off as she got the boys out the door. And, as she did she had an approaching car, and saw that it was Esme showing up to collect the boys since she didn't want to have Bella going out of her way to drop them off before going to work.

She took one look at Bella's face and realized that Bella and Edward had had another fight. However, she never said a word, but, Bella helped Esme to get the boys into her car. Both women left, one behind the other, but, going in different directions after pulling out of the driveway.

Bella was speeding towards the highway and reaching to turn on the radio when suddenly the car veered off to the right. Bella quickly turned the wheel slightly to bring it back under control and realized that the car was gaining speed going down the incline. Off to one side was a drop off, not too steep, but, still a danger if someone went off the road on that side.

As she was pumping the brakes to no avail as the car was still gaining in speed and as she approached the only sharp turn in the road the car went straight and flew off the road and into the ravine.

 **A/N: Thank you, Kathrine. See what your nonsense has caused? Since we're nearing the end of this story, I'll be posting the next chapter next week. At that time we'll find out what happened to Bella and how well Edward takes the news.**

 **All thoughts and reviews are always welcome. Thanks for reading.**


	14. Chapter 14

**HOW I GOT HERE**

 **Disclaimer: The Cullen's, the Swans, and most of the characters mentioned in the story that are known from Stephanie Meyer's beloved Twilight Saga, are all hers and hers alone. I neither have nor wish to pass them off as mine. I do appreciate the fact that she did bring them to life and allows us to play with them in our imaginations. The only thing I will claim is the current storyline.**

 **The awesome and talented dowlingnana searched out my errors and corrected them.**

 _As she was pumping the brakes the car was still gaining in speed and as she approached the only sharp turn in the road the car went straight and flew off the road and into the ravine._

 **CHAPTER 14: THE GUILT TRIP BEGINS**

Edward listened as Bella pulled away from the house as she headed to work. Of course, he remembered after she had reminded him about her car, but, he just couldn't stop the words that spewed out of his mouth. And, to make matters worse, he was feeling guilty once more because he had been the cause of them having another argument. This feeling guilty since he seemed to be the one starting the fights was becoming a constant companion. He knew that Bella hadn't spilled coffee on him purposely, but, it was the trigger that released the slim control that he had been having a hard time to maintain over the last several hours. Sadly, his beloved Bella was the one that received his venom once again.

He was having a hard time at the studio as he was busy trying to find out why things were going so array. He had checked with other directors that he had worked with in the past to ask for their insight and advice and all of their answers were the same: someone was trying to sabotage the entire project. The reason why was difficult to grasp. True, he had made some enemies over the years in the business, but, not to the extent that they would go this far he hoped. The only individual that he could think of that would be crazy enough to create problems like this was Kathrine, but, it couldn't be her since she was out of town on location in Europe. That's not saying that she didn't or couldn't hire someone to do her dirty work for her, but, he really didn't believe that she would risk what she had left of her career after the _Time Everlasting_ fiasco and the results that backfired on her happened.

But, no matter how many problems he seemed to be encountering, it was no excuse to bring it home with him to unload everything onto his wife, but, he was very careful not argue with her in front of the twins. That was an absolute no on both of their sides; every effort was made to appear loving around their boys. She wasn't the cause of the problem, and, she had been nothing short of supportive throughout the entire project. Even when she needed to do a rewrite that he requested, she would tackle it with a smile and get it done immediately for him. And, as he thought about all of that his guilt level kicked up to a higher level because his Bella never complained; she didn't stand for his bullshit attitude if it attacked her personally, but, she still was supportive and always trying to be understanding. She said that since it was his first effort to be doing a dual role that she knew it was hard on him.

He knew he needed to find a way to apologize and to talk with Bella to let her know the full extent of the situation he was having to contend with, but, he just didn't seem to be able to find the words that were needed. She had been told some of what was happening, but, he had tried to keep most of it at work and away from home. It was important to him to keep home all about his family, but, that wasn't working out so well either lately. So, in a manner of speaking, he was beginning to feel like a failure at everything and that added to his frustration which carried over to how he attacked his wife verbally. She always seemed to receive the brunt of his temper.

As Edward moved up the stairs towards the master suite to freshen up and try catching some sleep before Bella and the boys returned home, he wasn't aware that a greater problem existed; one that was going to rock his world and change the course of many lives. He took a quick shower, took care of his business in the bathroom, slipped on his boxers and fell into bed. No time was wasted for him to fall to sleep.

The heavy burden of handling being both director and male lead actor of this project, as well as all of the worries, frustrations and problems that came with it, especially, the unusual problems that seem to be popping up, had taken Edward to the point of utter exhaustion. So, as he went into a deep sleep time passed without him being aware of how long he slept, or, of the things that were taking place while he was out cold.

XXXXXX

When Esme got home with the boys, Carlisle helped her to get them situated then she turned to her husband with her eyes expressing a lot of sadness. "What's wrong, Es?" He asked as he walked over to her and reached out, bringing her body in contact with his while he was trying to comfort his wife as he waited to hear what the problem might. However, he had a pretty good idea what was troubling his wife, but, he waited for her to tell him before he continued on further.

"I got over to pick up Charles and Carl and was hit with the facts that our son and his wife had been arguing once again. Carlisle, I've no idea what is going on and it breaks my heart to see the two of them at odds with each other so much.

"I know their love for one another is strong, but, I just can't understand what is causing all of these problems."

"Since Edward is trying his hand at directing for the first time, do you think that might have something to do with the root of the problem? I mean, at the moment, both acting and directing must be adding a lot of stress on the boy." Carlisle offered as an excuse of what might be bringing so much pressure between Edward and Bella. "It's possible, also, that Bella might be having a lot of stress going on at work, the same as Edward, and that will make both tempers short."

"I don't believe that any more than you do. No, there's something else going on, but, I just don't know what it is. But, the one thing I do know is that the two of them haven't had much time alone since the twins were born."

"Okay, then why don't you call Bella and let her know that we're keeping Charles and Carl overnight, so, that she and Edward can have a date night?"

"I'll do that. You're so smart, I think that's why I married you and why we're still going strong." She remarked with a bit of a chuckle as she turned to check on the boys before calling Bella at work.

But, as it turned out Bella hadn't arrived at work yet, so, Esme left a message about keeping the twins overnight. She never questioned why her daughter in law hadn't arrived, only thinking about the traffic might be a bit heavy, which wasn't unusual. Then after that call she called and left the same message for Edward since she knew he was at home sleeping. Maybe, once he hears it he might come up with a bright idea to woo his wife once she gets home that evening.

Little did Esme, Carlisle, or, even, Edward suspect that Bella was in trouble, that an accident had occurred that would keep her from coming home. All was very peaceful, at least, for the time being.

XXXXXX

Other traffic traveling that particular road and approaching that particular turn in the road, never once noticed that a vehicle had careened off of the road and down into the ravine. There were no skid marks of brakes being applied or any other factors that might draw attention to the fact that a crash had happened. So, the hours marched by without anyone being alerted to a problem.

Edward was into a deep, exhausted slumber, the office had assumed that Bella decided at the last minute to work from home and Carlisle and Esme, having the boys, thought everything was okay, even, though, they hadn't heard back from either Edward or Bella.

With the passing of time, day turned into night and then turned into morning with no one realizing that something was wrong.

XXXXXX

Edward awoke around eight in the morning to realize that Bella had allowed him to sleep around the clock. This was something that he was very grateful that she had done. So, getting up and heading into the bathroom he refreshed himself all the way around and then headed down to the kitchen.

He was in need of a good cup of coffee and he knew Bella would have left a fresh pot brewed for him as she would have left for work and dropping the kids off at daycare. They had decided before the twins were born that they didn't want a nanny for the kids as daycare would work during working hours and they would be hands on parents all other times.

Entering the kitchen, he saw that no coffee had been made. In fact, the residue in the pot was from the day before and the unit was cold to the touch. Although, that was strange, Edward just thought that his wife was still upset with him from yesterday and was trying to teach him a lesson. He smiled and realized that he deserved it; he admitted it to himself and would admit it to her when he called her shortly.

He stumbled back upstairs to get dressed and to decide what he would have for breakfast. Due to some set changes and rebuilds that were having to be done, everyone was off yesterday and today, but, would start again bright and early tomorrow. But, Edward had some material he wanted to go over again so he could have a solid idea in mind how he wanted to do things.

After getting dressed he reached over to get his phone and saw that he had a voice message. Assuming it was from Bella he quickly listened to it, but, it was from his mother from yesterday saying that his parents would be keeping the boys overnight. Then she hinted that it would give him and Bella some quiet time together. But, that never happened since Bella had allowed him to catch up on some much needed sleep.

As he was about to call his mom he heard a car coming up the driveway. So, walking to the front door to see who was coming, he saw his parents getting out of the car as it came to a stop. They walked to the back doors and each got a child out of the car seats.

Opening the front door, he greeted them and then for each of the boys, giving them each hugs and kisses. Edward loved his boys dearly and next to his Bella, they were his world, his life.

As they got the boys settled in their area in the living room, Esme turned to her son asking how their date night went. He looked at his mom and replied, "There was no date night. I didn't get your message until a moment a go and I was about to call you and then Bella at work."

Esme and Carlisle looked at their son with puzzled expressions so Edward explained, "She allowed me to sleep since I was so exhausted. I seemed to have slept around the clock, and, feel a hell of a lot better today. Thanks for keeping the boys as I'm sure Bella would have enjoyed the free time."

"Okay, why don't we keep Charles and Carl one more night to give you both a chance to have some time tonight since you seem to have the time off, unless you're going in later." Carlisle suggested.

"That sounds great, Dad. Let me just call Bella at work to make sure she doesn't have any scheduled plans for all of us." So, Edward did call Bella's phone and received only her voicemail. Hanging up, he dialed her secretary to see if he could get a hold of her that way, but, what he was told shocked him to his core.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Cullen, but, Mrs. Cullen hasn't been into the office for the last two days. We thought that she had decided to work from home." Edward thanked the woman and rushed through the house to Bella's small office she had set up for such occasions, but, found it empty. He returned to the living room where his parents were waiting anxiously to find out what was happening.

"Edward?" Was all Esme said as she was asking for an explanation.

"Mom, when was the last time you saw Bella?"

"Yesterday morning when I got the boys. Why? Edward, what's going on?" She questioned him.

"I don't know, but, something strange is happening. Bella never made it into the office yesterday or today. They thought she was working from home which she does from time to time.

"I'm getting worried that something may have happened, what with all the strange stuff that has been happening at the studio lately."

As he spoke those words, Carlisle was reaching for his phone to call the police when there was a knock on the door.

 **A/N: So, Bella has been missing for twenty-four hours now and everyone is just beginning to realize it. Now, a knock at the door, who could it be?**

 **All thoughts and reviews are always welcome. Thanks for reading.**


	15. Chapter 15

**HOW I GOT HERE**

 **Disclaimer: The Cullen's, the Swans, and most of the characters mentioned in the story that are known from Stephanie Meyer's beloved Twilight Saga, are all hers and hers alone. I neither have nor wish to pass them off as mine. I do appreciate the fact that she did bring them to life and allows us to play with them in our imaginations. The only thing I will claim is the current storyline.**

 **The awesome and talented dowlingnana searched out my errors and corrected them.**

" _I'm getting worried that something may have happened, what with all the strange stuff that has been happening at the studio lately."_

 _As he spoke those words, Carlisle was reaching for his phone to call the police when there was a knock on the door._

 **CHAPTER 15: FROM THE FRYING PAN TO THE FIRE**

All motion halted and everyone was silent, even the twins weren't making a sound at that moment, as the knocking sounded once more. Then the first person to move was Edward; he rushed to the door as a third knock was beginning and it was starting to sound a bit impatient. As he got to the door and opened it he saw two men standing there and both wore a suit and, the one with a raised fist as if he was about to knock once more, was the one that seemed to taking the lead.

But, before anyone could utter a word, Carlisle appeared to stand next to Edward while Esme had remained with the boys. Both men inside the house were waiting for the two on the outside to announce why they were there. The silence seemed to stretch between the two groups until Carlisle decided he had had enough of the silent treatment. So, he asked, "Okay, would you mind identifying yourselves and telling us why you're here?"

The man that had been doing the knocking, cleared his throat before he opened his mouth to speak. When he did speak, he said, "I'm Det. James and this officer, Det. Reeves, is my partner." He identified themselves before continuing with a very puzzled frown showing on his face. "But, I must say that I'm a bit surprised to see you standing before me, Mr. Cullen." He commented while still staring at Edward in a funny way.

"Why would you be surprised? After all, this is my home. Where else would you assume I might be? Or, rather, who did you assume might be here if it wasn't me or my wife?

"That's just the problem, Mr. Cullen, we expected your wife, but, not you."

Before any further discussion could take place, Carlisle intervened by stepping aside and invited the two Detectives into the house. Edward, also, moved to one side as he opened the door wider for the two men to enter. He and Carlisle, glancing quickly at each other with the same puzzled frown as the detectives were reflecting, led the way back to the living room and motioned for the two men to have a seat as Edward offered refreshments to which they refused.

Esme was looking at each person in turn trying to figure out what was happening and was starting to grow impatient as she waited to be introduced to the two strangers that had just entered the room. But, as she waited, time was ticking by and neither of her guys were making any effort to include her at the moment. With that being the case she took matters into her own hands, "Since my husband and my son seem to have misplaced their manners for the time being, I'll introduce myself, I'm Esme Cullen." She stated as she held out her hand to shake hands with the two strangers.

Both Edward and Carlisle felt a little ashamed that they hadn't introduced her immediately upon everyone's entrance into the room. But, then, too, truth be told, she hadn't really given them the chance. Both men were still recovering from the fact that two L. A. Detectives had come out here for a reason and that reason hadn't been stated as yet. And, Carlisle looking over at his son recognized the signs in Edward that he was near the point of panicking.

So, without waiting for Edward to ask, Carlisle took the lead for the moment to give his son time to get his emotions under control, asked, "You stated a moment ago that you were surprised to see my son here, but, you didn't say why. Would you mind explaining the purpose for your visit?"

"Our captain got a call from an old friend of his asking him to check into a situation that happened to Mr. Cullen. That's why we were rather surprised when you, Mr. Cullen, answered the door personally." Det. James explained as he looked over at Edward. "We were fully expecting it to be your wife, Mrs. Isabella Cullen."

"And, what kind of situation is supposed to have happened to me?" Edward asked in a quizzical fashion as a frown appeared on his face.

"That we aren't sure of at the moment. The only thing that we were told was to check out the possibility that something had happened to you, Sir."

"Is it possible to get in touch with your captain so we might have more information given since you don't have all of the details involved?" Edward asked and then he looked over at his parents to see the worried expressions on their faces before he continued, "And, while you're here I need to report my wife as missing."

The two detectives looked at Edward and then over at his parents with expressions reflecting the fact that they were trying to weigh out what the problem might be, or, if someone was playing games with them. "Okay, Mr. Cullen, can you tell us why you think your wife is missing?"

"Of course, I can." And, Edward began explaining his statement. He told them what had occurred the morning before, leaving nothing out, as well, as Esme explaining her part in all of the events the day before. Then it was explained what had been discovered as Edward had awakened and came down to the kitchen. Carlisle and Esme told about their arrival and then explained how their son had called the office expecting Bella to be at work. It didn't take long for them to finish with the facts that Bella had never made it into the office either day and that no one had seen or heard from her since yesterday morning. It was at this point that Carlisle told them that he had been on the point of calling the police when the two detectives had knocked at the door.

Both detectives looked at each other and then Det. James pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed a number. As he was waiting for an answer he explained that he was calling his captain. "It seems that more is going on then what was indicated." Was all that he commented to the others in the room.

After only a short hold it seems his captain answered the calls and the detective quickly explained what he had found upon his arrival at the Cullen household. During his explanation to the captain he said that it wasn't Mr. Cullen that was missing, but, Mrs. Cullen. He listened for a few moments before replying, "No, sir, we're still here with the Cullen family." He listened a bit more and then answered, "Yes, sir, they were wanting to know who had contacted you and why it was requested that some checking be done and just what type of situation were we supposed to have been looking for."

The detective listened again to his captain and then put the call on speaker. "Mr. Cullen, my name is Captain Jones and I'm an old friend of Charles Swan. And, before I say anything else I'd prefer for you to come down to my office for a full explanation."

"That isn't going to work for me. I don't want to leave here in case my wife should arrive back and I miss her. It is imperative that I know that she is all right. My wife needs to be found."

"Well, in that case, although, this type of conversation being conducted over the phone is highly unusual, I'll agree to it this once." Captain Jones told Edward and then he continued to explain that Charlie had called to say that he had received a note offering sympathy to the Swan family for the loss of their son in law, but, that Charlie needed to know the pain he caused in the past. "It stated 'that he would have to live with the constant pain because of the pain that his daughter was feeling with the losing her husband the way she did. Revenge is sweet when served cold, Agent Swan.'

"I was able to read directly from the note since Charlie had sent me a copy. So, now you see why I assigned two of my men to investigate. But, you say that Mrs. Cullen is missing.

"Please give all of the information that you can to Det. James and Det. Reeves and we'll begin checking into her whereabouts. Normally, you have to wait forty-eight to seventy-two hours before a person can be reported missing, but, under the circumstances, I think it would be best to move forwards with finding her." Captain Jones said and then he indicated for Det. James to release the conference type call and continued to give him instructions privately.

Det. Reeves had been making notes while everyone had been talking and he had been noticed by Edward, so, it came as no surprise when the detective asked if there was anything else that any of the family members could add to what had already been stated. The answer by each of them was "no".

"Very well, that being the case, we'll leave and begin our search for Mrs. Cullen. Mr. Cullen, we'll be sure to keep you posted as to what is happening. In the meantime, I would suggest that you discuss this with no one, except you might want to contact Mrs. Cullen's family to update them as to the situation." Det. James told them and suggested to Edward.

With that said the two officers left, leaving behind a very worried set of individuals, each afraid to speak of the fear that was trying to grip their heart. But, Esme was the first to break the silence that was left behind after the detectives had left since no one knew what to say, she remarked, "We need to keep our heads and to believe that Bella is okay. The most important thing is to keep the boys as calm as possible. They will be quick to pick up on any emotional upset that any of us will be feeling because of this. Control is going to have to be the keyword at all times." The two men nodded their understanding and agreement.

The last thing that Edward wanted was to get the boys upset as well. It was enough that he was worried as hell and feared the worst. But, at the same time he knew that the worst was yet to come; he was going to have to call Charlie and Renee to let them know what was happening. Renee, he knew could be scary, but, Charlie was a force that put the absolute fear of God into you. So, he looked to his mother and asked, "Mom, do you mind dealing with Charles and Carl a bit longer while I go make the calls to Bella's mom and dad?" Esme nodded her head and Carlisle asked if Edward would like for him to keep him company while making the calls.

"No, Dad, this is something I need to do on my own. However, after I make the calls I would appreciate some advice as to how I should handle things, at least, until Bella is found." Carlisle nodded his head in understanding and resumed his seat next to his wife as Edward left to go somewhere private to make his calls.

There was no hesitation in who was going to be his first call: Charlie. It had to be Charlie; he might as well get that over with since it was going to be the hardest call made. And, as he was dialing in the number to be connected to his most dreaded nightmare, a knock could be heard at the door once again. Edward heard the phone at the other end begin to ring as he was trying to decide if he should hang up and answer the door then call again later, or, just let his parents answer the door while he continued the call.

As the ringing continued so did the knocking until it seems that someone had answered the door. But, Edward wasn't getting an answer, so, he decided that he would try calling Renee and then try Charlie once more. However, before he could dial his mother's in law number the door burst open to reveal two men, his dad and standing beside him was one Charlie angry ass Swan. He had the look of hell on his face and it bore bad news for the recipientt, or, anyone else that got in his way.

"Hey, Charlie, I was just trying to call you." Was all he could think to say as he took a few hesitant steps towards his father in law with his hand held out to shake hands with the newcomer.

"And, why were you trying to call me? Then, again, what the hell are you doing here instead of Bella?"

"That's a question that I would like an answer to as well. Why are you here instead of at home?"

"First, after calling Mike, an old friend of mine, telling him about a note I had received I asked if he would check into it for me. Then I caught the next plane out that I could, so, I could be here with Bella.

"Speaking of which, where is my daughter? And, that brings me back to my question earlier, why were you trying to call me and how can you be here?"

Edward saw his father still standing in the doorway, so, he asked his father to please close the door since a private discussion was necessary. It didn't take long after Carlisle had closed the door and left that a loud scream could be heard resounding throughout the entire house.

Next, the door to the room where Edward and Charlie had been was thrown opened so hard it slammed into the wall as Charlie was marching out of the room and shouting, "You're too blame if anything has happened to my daughter and you can damn well bet that once she's found I'll be having a long discussion with her.

"But, if something bad has happened and once she's found, I'll be taking my daughter and grandbabies back home with me. You'll never come near them again." And with that said Charlie moved to leave.

But, Edward stopped him in his tracks and said, "Charlie, you're correct about it will be my fault and I'll have to carry the blame if anything has happened to Bella. Depending on how bad it is, then I'll decide what will be best for my wife, but, it will be a cold day in hell, in fact, it will be the day that I was kicked out of hell for selling ice cubes before I let you take our children."

Both men looked at each other for several minutes as if in a contest of a stare down, before each turned away and marched off.

XXXXXX

A couple out hiking came across some debris that appeared to have come from some kind of vehicle. And, as they continued on it seemed that more and more wreckage was being seen. It wasn't long before they came across a crashed car with a female body inside of it.

 **A/N: Okay, Charlie's on the scene and has had words with Edward. Edward takes a stand. Now, a couple of hikers come across a wrecked car. Is it Bella?**

 **All thoughts and reviews are always welcome. Thanks for reading.**


	16. Chapter 16

**HOW I GOT HERE**

 **Disclaimer: The Cullen's, the Swans, and most of the characters mentioned in the story that are known from Stephanie Meyer's beloved Twilight Saga, are all hers and hers alone. I neither have nor wish to pass them off as mine. I do appreciate the fact that she did bring them to life and allows us to play with them in our imaginations. The only thing I will claim is the current storyline.**

 **The awesome and talented dowlingnana searched out my errors and corrected them.**

 _A couple out hiking came across some debris that appeared to have come from some kind of vehicle. And, as they continued on it seemed that more and more wreckage was being seen. It wasn't long before they came across a crashed car with a female body inside of it._

 **CHAPTER 16: THE SETTLING INTO HELL**

"Oh, shit. Oh, shit, what are we going to do?" Nancy, the female hiker, was moaning. "Dougie, is she alive? Can you tell?"

"Damn, Nancy, give a person a minute or two before you start freaking the hell out. I have to be able to get close enough to see if she has a pulse. I can't deal with two separate situations at one time right now."

"You're a nurse, so, can't you tell by looking at her to see if she's breathing?"

"Woman, you have to give me a minute to be able to find my way over there. The way the car is positioned, it looks to be balanced, but, any additional weight might send it further down the ravine. If that happens then if the person inside is alive now, they won't be at the end of a further drop.

"So, please, be quiet and let me see how I can work my way over to check things out." Doug told her and then he had a bright idea to help occupy Nancy as a means of getting her mind off of the possibilities of the body, but, make her helpful at the same time. "Nancy, why don't you go down the trail a little ways and see where you can get the strongest signal on your phone. Once you do get it call 911 and explain what we've found so they can send help."

Without further comment, Nancy did as Doug had asked her to do. It unnerved her to see a body that was as bloody as that one seemed to be. She knew if she got any closer she would lose whatever lunch that was still residing in her stomach. She just couldn't stand the sight of blood no matter the amount there might be and Dougie knew this. So, she was grateful to her friend for suggesting a small separation from the scene of the accident.

There wasn't any time wasted by Nancy as she quickly scrambled back down the trail to make the necessary phone call. She kept testing the strength of the signal until she was satisfied that she had reached a spot that gave the strongest and then she made the call to 911.

XXXXXX

"Edward, will you please stop your damn pacing. It's starting to get on my last nerve." Alice told him. She was starting to get very irritated with her brother. Everyone was constantly on 'needles and pins' because there hadn't been any word about Bella's whereabouts. It's like she had vanished off the face of the earth. The questions on everyone's mind was where was she and was she hurt?

Of course, it didn't help that Charlie Swan was around and that Renee, Bella's mother, was arriving at the house any moment. It seems from the little that Edward had mentioned to everyone about that phone call was that after she had been told about Bella missing, she didn't hold back on her language one little bit. Edward would only say that what she said and how she said it would have made a sailor blush. But, unlike Charlie she wasn't completely blaming Edward for Bella missing; she was ready to be reasonable and wanting to look at things from all angles before laying blame. And, the last thing she did tell Edward was that it takes two to argue the same as it takes two to 'tango'.

At least, Edward was grateful for the reprieve of her outlook. It was difficult enough to face Charlie each time the two were in the same room together. Truth be told, Bella's father never uttered another accusation at him after doing so upon his arrival, but, Edward could still feel the harsh feelings the man held towards him at the moment.

When Edward and Bella first started dating and Edward had met Charlie for the first time, the two had gotten along just fine and that relationship lasted until Charlie found out that it was Bella that went missing. Since the moment that Charlie realized that it wasn't Edward, but, was his daughter that was missing, things had been very tense between the two men which made it very uncomfortable for anyone else that happened to be around the two for any length of time.

It had now been two days, forty-eight hours, since Bella was reported missing, but, truth be told, it had been over seventy-two hours since she had actually gone missing. A little over twenty-four hours before anyone knew that she was missing.

Edward was pulled out of his thoughts as he heard a car pulling up the driveway. He glanced at the clock and realized that it could be none other than his mother in law, Renee Dwyer. Although, he dreaded this meeting, Edward was aware that he had to endure it one more time from another parent. He straightened his shoulders as he raised himself up to his full height and braced himself for the upcoming confrontation.

XXXXXX

Nancy got off the phone after making her 911 call and shouted back to her friend that help was on the way. And at the same time she was wondering about what Doug had discovered about the female body in the car. Was the lady alive? Was she dead? Who was she and how long had she been there? And the desire to know the answers, since Nancy couldn't stand puzzles or surprises, was driving her crazy, but, not enough to get near that bloody scene. She wanted Doug to get back to her and give her the answers to her questions; at least, answers to some of her questions as she didn't think that her friend would be able to answer all of them.

She was trying to make up her mind about walking back up the trail towards the wreck when she saw Doug walking back towards her. Being patient was hard for her, but, she knew that her friend wouldn't give her any information by shouting it at her. It was hard waiting for him to arrive beside her, but, she did manage it.

As he got closer Nancy realized that he was carrying something in his hand, but, it was small enough that she wasn't able to tell what he had. But, as he drew nearer, Doug called out, "You will not believe who is in that car!"

"Who?" Nancy asked with barely concealed impatience. She could tell that it was someone unusual and very important by the way Doug was behaving.

"I checked over the person in the car and right now it is balanced just perfectly. The least little pressure in the wrong place could send it further down the ravine, just as I had suspected earlier.

"However, as I got closer and caught a glimpse of the lady's face I thought I recognized her, but, once I could get a hold of her wallet her identity was confirmed; that is Isabella Cullen, the wife of Edward Cullen who lives further up on the hillside."

"You're kidding, right?" She asked and saw Doug shaking his head no, he wasn't joking. "If that's the case we need to go to his house and let him know about his wife." She told her friend and then added, "We might get some kind of reward for this." She commented with great excitement and the idea of dollars growing wings and flying around in her mind's eye.

"I know you're right, but,-" Doug halted with what he was going to say as he looked at Nancy and then twisted his head around enough to glance back up in the direction of the wrecked vehicle as if trying to make a decision.

However, Nancy took his hesitation in stride, acting as if it never happened, and told him as she was grabbing a hold of his arm and pulling, "Let's go."

"Nancy, stop. Stop! We can't go. Help is on the way and we need to stay here to direct them to the wreckage. Apparently it can't be seen from the road or someone would have reported it by now." He was reasoning with his friend.

Her face took on a slight pouty look as she looked at Doug, but, at the same time she understood what he was saying. And, seeing that look on her face while she was weighing his words, Doug continued, "What if it was you in that situation? Would you want someone that found you to leave you alone with the hope that the rescue unit found you after someone else had called it in, but didn't stay around to lead help to your whereabouts?

"It'll be better to let the officials inform Mr. Cullen of the accident because they're better equipped to handle dealing with handing out that sort of news. I'm a nurse, but, still I don't handle that kind of news unless there's no one else to do it at the time. That is the part of a doctor's job or someone else that is better capable of handling the emotional family responses.

"It takes a special person to be able to turn off their own emotions to be able to handle that sort of burden and to be able to walk away from it without the burden weighing you down. Nurses are able to empathize with the patient and on some level with the family, but, we take over the care from the doctor that handled things under more intense circumstances."

"Okay, we'll stay. But, I would suggest that since you are better able to deal with the medical side of things that you return to be with Mrs. Cullen and I'll climb up to the road to be able to direct the rescue party down to where you two are located. However, do me a favor by staying within my sight so I don't feel like I'm so alone in this mess."

Doug smiled at her and promised that she would be able to see him at all times.

XXXXXX

Renee had been greatly upset, but, still not a single word of blame towards Edward had left her mouth the whole time. However, once Charlie had added his two cents worth, Renee had given him a dressing down about his reaction to the situation. As she didn't hesitate to remind him, he was the one that was always spouting 'deal with the facts of things and not what you assume things to be'. All her ex-husband did was huff and then walked out of the room.

As time did pass, the nerves of everyone were really wearing thin, even Renee's, but, she was still refusing to play the blame game. She realized that Edward had been painfully honest with her about all of the arguments and the contributing factors, even going so far as to say he was the responsible one for starting the arguments and refusing to offer any excuses for his behavior. Renee respected that about him.

Both families took turns and even, at times together, of spending time with the twins. Everyone was trying to keep the boys occupied in the hope that they wouldn't respond to all of the stress and tension that was being felt by all of the adults present about Bella missing. And, as time continued to march forwards with no word of where she was, the worst was being assumed by them.

It was late in the afternoon when a knock was heard at the front door, and that knock brought any action to a halt. It was as if time froze and so did the adults become as statutes. Then as if of one accord all rushed to answer the door.

The same two detectives that had come to check on Edward three days before were standing on the door step with an older looking man. Charlie happened to be standing just behind Edward until he spied the third person on the outside. "Morgan, my old friend, it's good to see you."

"Charlie, you are indeed a sight for these old eyes. It's good to see you, but, I do wish that it was under better circumstances. I'm here about your daughter." It was then that Charlie introduced his old friend, Morgan Jones, the captain that had spoken with Edward a few days before.

Everyone moved from blocking the doorway and asked the three officers to come in, but, instead of leading them into the living room at the front of the house, Edward took them into the library that was about midway back on the first floor. Esme and Carlisle said that they would stay with the boys and encouraged Renee to go with Edward and Charlie.

As the door closed, and all had taken a seat except for Capt. Jones, he turned to look at Charlie and then over at Edward. "Mr. Cullen, I'm here to inform you that we've found your wife. She has been taken to Los Angeles General."

 **A/N: Bella's been found and Edward, Charlie and Renee have been informed of that fact.**

 **All thoughts and reviews are always welcome. Thanks for reading.**


	17. Chapter 17

**HOW I GOT HERE**

 **Disclaimer: The Cullen's, the Swans, and most of the characters mentioned in the story that are known from Stephanie Meyer's beloved Twilight Saga, are all hers and hers alone. I neither have nor wish to pass them off as mine. I do appreciate the fact that she did bring them to life and allows us to play with them in our imaginations. The only thing I will claim is the current storyline.**

 **The awesome and talented dowlingnana searched out my errors and corrected them.**

 _As the door closed, and all had taken a seat except for Capt. Jones, he turned to look at Charlie and then over at Edward. "Mr. Cullen, I'm here to inform you that we've found your wife. She has been taken to Los Angeles General."_

 **CHAPTER 17: SURPRISE!**

The news brought about a different reaction from each person connected to Bella Cullen. After Capt. Jones had delivered his news the room went silent for a heartbeat or two before an indrawn breath could be heard coming from Renee, Charlie giving a "the hell you say", and Edward, Edward just stood there in total shock of what had been told to him. He was having a hard time believing what had just been spoken about his missing wife.

The two detectives and their captain, Charlie's old friend, watched the other three occupants of the room as they waited to be able to give them the information of what had happened to their missing loved one and about the need for an investigation into the accident. And, they didn't have long to wait before the questions began to fly from both Charlie and Edward. They each demanded to know all of the information that was known as well as why it had taken them so long to find her. Then they started with further questions, demands and insults, but, was stopped dead cold by Renee.

"Enough of this macho shit!" She shouted looking at both Charlie and Edward in turn. "I don't care at the moment about anything else, except to know what condition my baby is in. The rest can come later, but, right now, I want to get to the hospital and check on Bella."

It didn't take any coaching from anyone for the two men to voice their agreement to Renee's statements. "Morgan, will you meet us at the hospital and then fill us in on the facts?" Charlie asked of his friend in a quieter, more subdued manner.

"Of course, but, remember this case does belong to Det. James and Reeves. They will be doing the investigating as to the cause of the accident. If foul play is found to be the case, then they will be the ones taking the case even further."

"I understand that. That is normal procedure, but, Morgan, I want to be kept updated as to what is being turned up." Charlie commented and then demanded of his friend.

"Charlie, you know how this goes, however, I will do what I can as I can. Don't ask anything more of me." Morgan Jones replied.

"Damn, Morgan, we're talking about my daughter here. You tell me what you would do, or, how you would feel if it was your child involved in the same type of circumstances?" Charlie angrily demanded of his friend.

"Look, Charlie, I can't pretend to know what you're feeling at the moment, and, don't think that I don't sympathize with what you have and are going through, but, I would advise you to understand that others are feeling the same as you are.

"Renee here, I'm sure is having just as hard of a time as you are. And, I definitely can't imagine what Mr. Cullen is going through with all of this concerning his wife. After all, Charlie, he loves his wife dearly.

"You have to understand that you are _**NOT**_ the only one grieving about the current set of circumstances. I do understand that you're carrying some guilt and as well as the blame that you're feeling, at least, I'm imagining it, but, you need to realize that others are just as upset as you are. And, to remind you, Charlie, Mr. Cullen is carrying the same sort of guilt and blame that you are, even if those feelings are for different reasons, they're still there and just as strong. The two of you ought to be supportive of each other instead of you trying to lay the total blame at his door and trying to make him carry the whole burden of the guilt. That is just ridiculous and unlike you, or, at least, unlike the man that I know.

"Each of you are going to have to deal with your emotions in your own way, but, don't try to lay them at each other or someone else's door like you're also trying to do with me. It isn't going to work."

Charlie Swan didn't respond to the reprimand that he had just received from his friend. He knew that Morgan was correct, but, in the scheme of things, being a parent, he was no longer acting as the highly respected police officer, he was a father scared for his daughter. Concerned about her condition and what in the hell had happened that caused her to be missing and then sent to the hospital when they had found her.

When he had gotten the note about the pain Bella would be enduring because of something happening to Edward and the talk of revenge mentioned in it as well, Charlie had a flashback to the time when plans had been discovered about trying to kidnap Renee and Bella. He nearly went berserk at that time, but, for that to be slapping him in the face after all of these years was beyond description in words. He had been at a loss then and was at a loss now to be able to explain his mixed up emotions; to be able to deal with the guilt and the self blame he was experiencing. That was when he latched onto the notion that Edward was more to blame than he was.

In his mind, if it hadn't been for Edward Cullen stirring the pot of discontent of one Kathrine Denali then none of this would be happening. He wouldn't have to be making a trip to console his daughter over the loss of her husband. His Bella wouldn't have to be dealing with the pain of her children never having their father around as they grew, but, Charlie knew that he would do all he could to give her the moral support that she and the twins would need.

Then the greatest surprise of his life hit him in the face when he arrived to find that it wasn't Edward that was missing, but, his Bella. The shift in emotions crashed into him in a way that also destroyed him. And, the only way that Charlie could handle the current hand that had been dealt to him was to lay everything at Edward's feet; to hold him responsible for everything that was happening to Bella at the present time.

He knew he was being unreasonable to a point, but, he didn't seem to be able to help himself, his emotions were in control. Maybe, later once he had had a chance to level out with his emotional upheaval that was occurring he might look at things differently, but, he hasn't had that time as yet. It's one thing after another coming at him, at them really, and his emotions were beyond a level of being raw. They're seeking for some kind of release and that release was to attack others, especially Edward and that wasn't like Charlie. He's very much like his daughter, looking at the positive as much as is humanly possible in those around him.

XXXXXX

Everyone arrived at the hospital after Capt. Jones had finished scolding Charlie and then left along with the two detectives. They had said that they would meet everyone at the hospital where they would finish filling them in on the details as they all awaited to hear from the attending doctor that was handling Mrs. Cullen's case. It was also mentioned that the two people that had found Mrs. Cullen were awaiting them at the hospital as well so the two detectives could go over their statements firsthand instead of the detectives reading the statements from the couple.

Edward had commented, "Good. I'm glad to hear that since it means that I'll be able to thank them personally for finding and getting the necessary help for her." And with that said he left the room moments before Capt. Jones and the two detectives to head to the hospital. He did stop long enough to tell his parents what was happening and then continued on towards the hospital without waiting for anyone else.

Charlie and Renee were quietly arguing while Esme called the rest of the family to let them know what had been discovered. Rosalie told her to take the twins to the hospital and she would meet them there to take over the care of the boys while Esme and Carlisle were there with Edward to give him support. "Cause to be honest with you, I think things are going to get a lot worse before they get better." She told her mom. Then added, "I'll get in touch with Emmett to let him know, so, don't worry about calling him."

Esme thanked her and called Alice, but, received no answer, so, she called Jasper instead and told him what was currently known. He said that he would get a hold of his wife and they would meet everyone at the hospital. Then he asked, "Esme, how is Edward handling all of this?"

"Not well, I'm afraid. As you know Bella's father is blaming Edward for what has happened to her and Edward is, more or less, agreeing with him. And, we all know Edward, if there is a problem that exist in this family that he is the least connected, he somehow finds a way to carry the guilt or the blame. That's his nature where those that he loves is concerned. His emotions run deep." And, with that Esme concluded her conversation with her son in law.

Jasper didn't hesitate once he hung up from speaking with Esme to track down his wife. He knew that Alice would want to be at the hospital, not just for her brother, but, also, for her best friend, Bella. It didn't take long once Edward had brought Bella around to meet the family that Alice and Bella formed a tight friendship. They were close, but, they didn't leave Rosalie out, however, Alice and Bella seemed to connect on a different level than with Rosalie. But, all three young women were as tight as friends and family could be, maybe, it could be said that they were tighter than what others would consider normal.

XXXXXX

Everyone arrived, although, in separate groups, at the hospital and met with Nancy and Doug. The couple explained how they found the wrecked car and the lady inside. Doug explained that since he was a nurse by profession he did what he could, as limited as he was because of how the car was balanced, while Nancy was the one that called 911 for help.

Edward didn't hesitate to thank them for all of their help. But, as he had listened to what they were saying tears formed in his eyes, and he was having a hard time trying to keep them in check from flowing down his face. The thought that his beloved wife was just down the road trapped in a wrecked car and unconscious due to her injuries for over seventy-two hours only increased the weight of guilt and the burden of blame that he was already carrying.

After the two detectives got through questioning the couple and all of the questions asked by the families with all of the 'thank you' that was given, things settled down as everyone, including the detectives, waited for Bella's attending physician to come talk with them. Bella's injuries were still an unknown at the moment.

Then after everyone had been waiting for four nerve racking hours some activity caught everyone's attention. Someone in coveralls came in, looked around as if searching for something or someone and then spotted the detectives. Once he saw Det. James and Reeves, he motioned them over to where he was standing. The conversation was concluded on a very quiet note, but, with special attention being paid to make sure no one was close enough to overhear what was being said. However, Charlie wasn't going to be left out, so, he went straight up to the detectives and pulled the 'fellow officer' and 'an old friend of their captain' card to be able to be involved in the conversation.

He could be heard at one point to say, "Son of a bitch." Then he got quiet once more as the conversation continued, but, with questions being asked more than complete information being shared. However, it seemed that Charlie appeared to be asked some questions as well as he was asking some of his own. To an outsider, the conversation appeared to be very intense and they would have been right.

After a bit the man in coveralls left and the two detectives along with Charlie resumed their seats. The silence hung heavy as all of the others waited, somewhat impatiently, to be told what the conversation had been about and what more had been discovered. No one was fooled, they knew something strange had been found because of the caution that was being taken to insure no one was close enough to overhear any of the whispered discussion and they wanted to know what it was.

When it appeared that not one of the three were going to be forthcoming with any information concerning the quiet, secluded conversation, Renee broke the silence by demanding, "What the hell is going on? Was that more information concerning my daughter? What were you told?" But, even as she paused long enough for someone to answer her questions, she heaved a heavy sigh and turned to Charlie, "Charles Edgar Swan, you had better tell me this instant what was said about Bella, or, I will make your life a living hell for the rest of your life and beyond."

Charlie could be heard issuing a low moan and a low groan could be heard coming from the other men in the group as they sympathized with Charlie's position, but, the women allowed a snicker or two to escape. The Chief looked over at the two detectives who did nothing more than give a shrug of the shoulders, before Charlie told the others what had been found wrong with the car Bella had been driving.

"The man that came by to talk with the detectives was a mechanic from the motor pool at the impound garage. They had gone over the car to see if it could be determined as to why the car had left the road. What they found was a bit scary.

"It seems that the brake line had been tampered with just enough for a slow leak, but, when pressure was applied it would drain faster. Add to that, the gas line had also been messed with and a slow leak was going on there as well, but, what caused concern was the fact that a chain had been attached." And, before Charlie could continue, the questions, "Why was a chain attached? Was it done deliberately?"

"Yes, to answer you, it was done for a deliberate purpose. A chain striking the road as the car was moving at a good pace would create a spark which could ignite the gas coming from the leak in the line. And, with the brake line having a leak as well, it would mean that the car couldn't be stopped, so the occupants wouldn't be able to get out of the vehicle since it would be moving too fast."

This information caused everyone to pale. Then the thought struck each one of them that the car was Edward's. It hadn't been meant for Bella to be driving the car, but, it was aimed towards Edward as the note had said that Charlie had received.

However, it made no difference, all members of both families were shocked due to the implications and what the true results had been. It was meant to be Edward, but, instead, it had been Bella. And, as the thoughts passed through each of their minds a man wearing a white doctor's smock appeared in the doorway and was noticed to be looking around as if seeking someone or something.

"Is the immediate family of Mrs. Isabella Cullen present?"

Edward stood and began walking towards the doctor as did Charlie at the same with everyone else hesitating for a moment and then did the same. With all the time that had passed while they had all waited to get to this point, Esme thought to herself that it had been the right decision to allow Rosalie and Emmett to take the twins.

"Mr. Cullen, I'm Dr. Franks, Mrs. Cullen's attending physician and surgeon. Would you come with me so we can discuss your wife's case privately?" Edward was quick to respond that it was okay to talk freely with everyone present. He explained that it was his wife's parents as well as his family that were present.

"Very well. Let's all be seated then and I'll explain what your wife's condition happens to be at the moment. I can tell you that she is now stable, whereas when she first arrived it was touch and go. It seems she had to be revived in the ambulance on the way in as her heart had stopped. And as she was being brought into the ER the same thing happened again.

"Once we were able to get her stabilized we had to rush her into surgery. It seems that once the airbag released she was hit with it full force in the face and the chest. She had received some broken ribs of which one punctured her left lung, her nose and left mandible were also broken, the jolt to her head had created a fracture to her skull which has caused some swelling to her brain. There has also been some internal bleeding, but, we've been able to deal with that by removing her spleen which had been ruptured due to the impact.

"In other words, plain and simple, she was a mess and having a very hard time breathing. And, being exposed to the elements for as long as she had been didn't help the matter in the least. It's a wonder she's still alive, to be honest with you.

"We do have her in a medically induced coma for the time being to try to allow her body a chance to recover from the trauma it had to endure. But, to be honest with you, we can't say what her condition will be once we take her off the medication for the fact, as I mentioned, there is some swelling to the brain and we're keeping a very close watch on that, but, we aren't sure if she will even regain consciousness once we reduce the medication that is keeping her sedated. Or, what shape her memory will be, even, if she does wake up. That is something we will just have to wait and see what will happen when it's time to bring her around." It was here that Dr. Franks paused to allow all that he had said to sink in.

He carefully watched the varying changes of expressions on each face, but, wasn't prepared for the full out and out sobbing that came from the women. It started very softly and then erupted startling him and all of the other men in the room. Next, Charlie jumped up, looked at Edward with hatred in his eyes and left the waiting room.

But, Edward was barely holding himself under control. The tears were threatening to fall, a scream that was wanting to break free was barely contained, the feeling of utter loss was wanting to over taking him and have control. He knew that right now wasn't the time or the place, but, it didn't mean that his feeling of wanting to let go weren't festering just underneath the surface.

XXXXXX

Time passed and Bella was no longer in a medically induced coma, but, she was still unconscious with no signs of opening her eyes. It had been two weeks and it was now time for decisions to be made since the swelling had decreased some, but, not completely.

Charles had moved to a hotel that was near the hospital and he was spending nearly all of his time there. Edward and the rest of the family members were there as much as possible, but, other demands didn't allow them to be there as much as they wanted to be.

It was because of this fact that Charlie finally had a standoff with Edward. He refused to listen to any explanation that Edward offered and told Edward to sign the paperwork okaying for Charlie to have control of Bella's medical treatment. And, to get this accomplished Charlie preyed upon Edward's guilt and pushed the blame card even harder in Edward's direction. And, added in the factor that had started all of the arguments between Bella and Edward, the fact that the film was taking up so much of Edward's time and now the crew was getting ready to go on location for a couple of weeks.

So, Edward agreed to this because he wanted someone available to make any decisions in regards to Bella's treatments without any delays and he signed the necessary legal papers then he had to leave to return to work until later when he would return to spend time with her before going to his parents to also spend time with the boys. But, as Edward returned later that afternoon he found Bella's room to be deserted. Then he received the shock that Charlie had had Bella moved; he had made arrangements for her to be transported back to Forks Washington immediately after Edward had signed the papers and returned to work.

A letter was left for him saying that Bella would have better care and the attention she needed under her father's care where they both would have the most comfort: in her childhood home. She would be receiving the constant attention she would need, since he was retiring and could be on hand for her at all times. Then the letter stated that all of the necessary bills would be forwarded to Edward each month.

Charlie had also wanted to try to get custody of the boys, but, after what Charlie had pulled with the removal of his Bella, Edward and his parents had refused to allow that to happen. That they would personally fight him through every court in the land if they had to. They also had no problem letting Charlie know what they thought of him taking control of Bella's care the way he did. So, each side held a grudge of sorts against the other.

Now, it had been a little over a year since Edward had received anything from Charlie, but, bills. As many times as he had tried to make arrangements with Charlie to see his wife, any and all contact had been refused. And, the one time that he did show up unannounced Charlie had refused to allow him inside. Instead he had closed the door in his face after once more delivering a blustering lecture to lay the blame and the guilt at Edward's feet.

From that moment on Edward poured himself into his work and spent as much time as he could with his boys which he left in the care of his parents.

XXXXXX

As Edward reached this point in his memories he was jarred back to the present where he was at the awards ceremony of the Oscars being handed out. Everyone was standing and applauding as Edward was looking around to see who had won the Best Actor award. He had accepted the award on Bella's behalf for best screenplay, he had won the award of best director and was now wondering who had won best actor.

With an usher arriving next to him and asking to escort him up to the stage, Edward knew that he had won for Best Actor as well. Bella's words which he made into a movie, _Life's Trauma_ , had won them both Oscars. And, now after Best Actor the only award left was Best Picture of which _Life's Trauma_ had been nominated with other outstanding films.

He quickly looked at his family and felt the tears once again, as they've done each time he or Bella won, gathering in his eyes the same as he saw them reflected in his family's eyes. He turned and headed for the stage to accept his Oscar and as has been the case each time, he had no prepared speech; he just spoke from his heart.

He reached the podium and the presenters, but, they didn't have the Oscar. Instead, they motioned to behind Edward as a loud gasp was heard from the audience and then loud applause. So, he turned and nearly fell to his knees.

The award was being presented by his beloved wife, Bella: she was home. He saw Charlie, Renee and Phil Dwyer standing behind the curtains watching the entire scene with big smiles.

 **A/N: I'm going to leave this final full chapter right there, but, will do the catching up in the epi.**

 **All thoughts and reviews are always welcome. Thanks for reading.**


	18. Chapter 18

**HOW I GOT HERE**

 **Disclaimer: The Cullen's, the Swans, and most of the characters mentioned in the story that are known from Stephanie Meyer's beloved Twilight Saga, are all hers and hers alone. I neither have nor wish to pass them off as mine. I do appreciate the fact that she did bring them to life and allows us to play with them in our imaginations. The only thing I will claim is the current storyline.**

 **The awesome and talented dowlingnana searched out my errors and corrected them.**

 _The award was being presented by his beloved wife, Bella: she was home. He saw Charlie, Renee and Phil Dwyer standing behind the curtains watching the entire scene with big smiles._

 **CHAPTER 18: EPILOGUE**

 **SEVENTEEN YEARS LATER**

Edward is sitting and watching a different type of ceremony, but, it was one that he considered to be one of the most important ones in life: his sons were graduating. This ceremony, although, different, reminded him of one that took place sixteen years in the past. The one where he was given a second chance by getting his family back. And, he has never stopped thanking the highest power above for reuniting him with his wife and his sons.

He will always remember the moment he turned when indicated by the Oscar presenters and saw his beloved Bella slowly walking towards him with the Oscar in her hand. The moment he saw her he felt his knees start to buckle and he had to quickly stiffen his muscles to keep from falling at her feet and begging for her forgiveness for all he had done to cause her great harm.

Even though, his family and Renee kept telling him that he wasn't to blame Edward felt like they were wrong. All of the reasons Charlie had laid at his door was true; his involvement with Irina and Kathrine was the fuel that spread and ignited the spark which led to the later situation. True, he and Irina were good, but, Kathrine just wouldn't give up and it did cost her in the fact by not being able to be on the same projects with one of Hollywood's 'darlings' that it affected her desirability for some remarkable movie projects.

Then she made the mistake of trying to revive the trash she had been spouting from the time they all were working on doing _Time Everlasting_ about Bella stealing her man when it was made known that Edward was going to do another film that Bella had written, but, when it was found out about Bella's accident and her medical condition Hollywood totally turned on her. With this happening it drove her into doing projects that she never would have considered which was more along the porn line of things and her getting involved with drugs.

So, with her sinking career and popularity she went into a state of depression and she started doing drugs which took her to doing the harsher ones, and that is what eventually led to her death. Kathrine was driving along the coastal highway heading to San Francisco while drinking heavily and high on cocaine while it appeared to witnesses that she was having a hard time staying on her side of the road. In the end, she was hit head on by an eighteen wheel which sent her car off the road as it burst into flame. From the findings of the medical experts she was killed instantly from the impact before the car caught fire.

Edward was upset to hear about what had happened to her and the loss of her wonderful talent. She threw it all away for no reason other than her desire to have everyone at her beck and call. She never learned how to share the attention with another, nor, did she learn that she couldn't have everything she wanted.

He did reach out to offer Irina his condolences, but, that was all he did. And, to show how fickle Hollywood can be, Kathrine Denali was quickly forgotten. She became a footnote when someone did think to speak of her to illustrate what the words 'spoilt', 'unreasonable', 'diva' and 'unyielding', meant.

Edward brought his attention back to the present to quickly realize that nothing had changed and that everyone was still arriving and the noise was almost deafening. It reminded him of the chaos that occurs on the first day of shooting a new project. He smiled, got comfortable and allowed his mind to travel down memory lane once more after he looked to his side and saw Bella involved in a conversation with his mother. After a slight smile of happiness he lapsed back into his memories once more.

He remembered how his emotions were all over the place once he started getting over his shock of his first sight of Bella walking towards him to present his Oscar for Best Actor. He remembered wondering what did Charlie have to smile about when he was the one that had torn his family apart. 'How dare him stand behind the curtain acting as if everything was okay!' was the thought that crossed his mind.

Once the Awards Ceremony was over Edward and his family chose to skip the after parties; there were too many questions that needed answers and Edward was determined to have that discussion. But, Edward was having a hard time hiding a sly smile that was wanting to show itself. He had a secret of which Charlie was unaware; he had been kept updated about his beloved wife's condition as much as it was possible to do.

Charlie couldn't stop Renee from visiting with her daughter and Renee in turn, although, she communicated with Edward, talked more with his mother, Esme.

His time was spread really thin because he was keeping himself so busy with all of his projects. That was why the boys stayed with his parents and he was doing all of the extra work to try to keep his mind so exhausted that he didn't have the time to miss Bella, let alone dwell on how Charlie had scooped her out from under his nose. And, it helped to keep the guilt and the blame from eating him up then swallowing him whole.

And, the factor that he felt like a failure at being both a husband and a father only helped to increase the guilt and the self-blame that he carried around. It was becoming a vicious cycle, work harder to stay exhausted so he didn't have to think which took time away from his sons. As Renee gave him or Esme updates about Bella he would hit a high only to feel deep pain because of the situation and the cycle started again.

He remembered the pain he felt each time Renee would call to give them an update about Bella. But, he did feel a bit of elation when his mother had told him about each time Renee was face to face with Charlie and ripped him a new one. From what he was told Renee didn't hold back and Charlie was carrying just as much pain, guilt and self-blame as he was. However, when he made the comment to Renee during one of their brief conversations that Charlie couldn't be feeling as badly as he was she told him, "no, he's carrying a much heavier load than you."

It took time for Edward to believe that, but, as Renee filled him in on more facts concerning the incident in Phoenix that hadn't been included in Bella's script Time Everlasting, Edward began to understand more of why Charlie was reacting the way he was. Of course, that understanding didn't mean that he was totally forgiving of Charlie, but, he was able to understand more of why Charlie was behaving overly protective of his only child. Edward knew that he would give his life to keep his boys safe if it was demanded of him.

Bella's condition was what concerned everyone as time marched on. She had remained in the coma for a couple of months before she began showing signs of awakening, but, during that period as it seemed that she was about to open her eyes Charlie had noticed a drastic change in her expression that caused him to have her rushed to the hospital and it turned out that the swelling which had been slowly receding was doing the reverse: her brain was swelling once more and they had to consider possible surgery. Then as the day that was set for the procedure arrived one last scan was done and it had shown that surgery wouldn't be necessary since the swelling was once again going down. However, it again became a waiting game; it was several more months before Bella did open her eyes.

From what Edward was told by what Renee had told Esme, Bella was shocked to look around and didn't recognize anything. In fact, she had no memory of anything or anyone, and it scared her; she didn't even know who Charlie was and that devastated him. Charlie had gone down to get something to eat and was startled into choking on the bite he had just taken because of a terrified scream that resounded throughout the whole house. And, with that discovery Charlie just about had a seizure, it had been suggested that other problems might exist 'if and when' she regained consciousness, but, he had refused to even consider those possibilities. Now, he was face to face with the reality of it.

He had quickly retreated down to the living room and placed an emergency call to Renee after placing a frantic call to Bella's doctor. Renee asked if he had contacted her doctor to which he answered that he had, and then she said that she would be on the next plane. With that stated the conversation ended and Charlie did call Bella's doctor once more and he was told that transportation would be arranged to bring her in to the hospital for testing. They wanted to make sure that she was truly on the mend and that her memory loss wasn't related to anything physical.

Once the testing was completed it was explained to Charlie and Renee, who had arrived by then, that the memory loss was a side effect due to her original accident and then the brain swelling which had caused her to be in a coma for so long. The doctors explained that it could be a short-term situation or a permanent one; that it was difficult to tell. That each case was different and there was really no defined treatment for such circumstances, but, they weren't prepared for what the doctors told them next.

Bella wasn't able to speak at the moment. "But, she screamed." Charlie argued with the doctor's assessment of the situation. So, it was further explained that it was a case of the brain reconnecting on its own to certain things which would trigger the memories, in most cases. But, it was also explained that some cases do exist where the patient never did regain those memories and had to start recreating their lives all over again.

Renee had asked about introducing things and people immediately to her to help her regain her memories to which the answer was not to throw things at Bella, but, to allow her to regain her memories on her own through naturally encountered triggers. A sudden appearance or trying to force a memory could throw the patient into a shock type status which would be extremely harmful to the patient.

Both, Charlie and Renee, wanted to know what could be done about Bella's lack of vocal expression. And, here it was explained that therapy was going to be required, both physically and mentally. "We've had someone working to keep her muscles conditioned as much as possible while she was in the coma, but, she is going to have to relearn certain things as well to be able to speak. Her vocal cords are fine, but, you might say they are a bit rusty from lack of use after being silent for so long. You have to understand, Chief Swan and Mrs. Dwyer, that her full recovery is going to take time and patience. And, her progress is going to have to come naturally at her pace, not what someone might want to push on her."

Renee had called Esme to let her know and asked that she update Edward as to Bella's condition as she wasn't wanting to say or do anything more that would possible increase his self-inflicted guilt or blame about Bella's condition. Esme was elated to hear that Bella was awake, but, was distressed to hear about the current conditions that are going to have to be dealt with. Esme explained that she knew the facts concerning Bella's having no memory of things was going to hit Edward hard.

As Edward listened as everyone was being filled in on the whole picture from each side; some things were more understandable after listening, and, others not so much as he did ride an emotional rollercoaster just like he had the first time he had been informed about all of it. However, the fact that his beloved was back with him was the main thing after all was said and done. But, during the discussion something that no one, but, Renee knew, came to light as the underlying fear that was in all of the Cullen's mind was 'what will happen now that Edward and Bella were back together'?

It was revealed that Charlie had asked Renee to stay with Bella long enough for him to take care of some business. Right from the first moment, Renee demanded to know why he was going to have to leave and for how long and the answer that 'he couldn't tell her' wasn't going to work. So, he explained that he was going after the people that were responsible for what had happened to Bella, even though, the accident had been originally planned for Edward. "They shouldn't have to live in fear. Besides, Re, I treated Edward badly and this is my start on making it up to him; well, to both of them. Their personal arguments weren't any of my business, but, the threat was and that was something that started long before Edward ever entered the picture." He had told her. She told him that he needed to come clean with Edward about his revelations and to try to make amends with his son in law.

So, for a month Renee and Phil had stayed with Bella since she was getting more familiar with the Forks area rather than flying her to their home in Florida. There wasn't any word from Charlie during all of that time, but, suddenly on the news was a story about some strange deaths of proven or suspected mafia heads and their guards. Then Charlie showed back up in Forks ready to take over taking care of his daughter once more, without any warning which was the way he had left. He refused to answer any of Renee's questions, but, did tell her that once Bella was able to make decisions for herself once more it would be safe her and her family to look forwards and not over their shoulders.

That information rocked the Cullen bunch, but, they did remember the news story without ever having any idea to connect it to the threat that had been issued against Edward, but, had harmed Bella instead. With a few moments of paused motion and total silence the room suddenly burst into action and noise with many demands for answers which Charlie still refused to answer.

Edward remembers that it was at that moment that Charlie did look over to him and asked if he could have a private word with him. Edward just looked at Charlie for a few minutes before silently rising and led the way out of the room. Of course, everyone was curious as to what was going to be said between the two, but, reframed from interfering.

Neither man ever revealed what had been discussed and even, though, a question or two is still asked about it, that conversation is still kept between the two men. The friendly, easy going relationship that was established when Bella first introduced Edward to her father no longer exist, but, both men have worked hard to reestablish a stronger bond through their love of Bella and the children.

Charlie did let everyone know that once Bella had regained all of her memories which had been a slow process along with her ability to speak, she had ripped him a new one like no one had ever dared to do. And, Charlie made the comment that he stayed quiet and took it because he deserved it.

It was also revealed that it was Esme that had suggested that Bella be the one to present Edward with the Oscar if he won. She had kept that information to herself and had only discussed with Bella and Charlie about how to let Edward know she was returning. Esme had thought that it would be something special for her son if her daughter in law gave the Oscar to Edward as a surprise. And, boy was it a surprise.

By the tapping on the microphone Edward's attention was drawn back to the present once more and all of the memories of the past hurt, pain and loss receded to his subconscious once more. He looked to his side and saw his beautiful wife along with their two other children, both daughters that held a unique combination, that although they were both adopted, of their parents features, their hair coloring was close to his hair and their eyes were green like his, but, their facial features were like their mother's heart shaped face, complexion and lush lips.

Lara Marie had been adopted two years after Bella's recovery and return and Sara Louise was adopted four years after Lara had gotten Lara. And, Edward was regretting the fact that Lara is nearing the age of wanting to date. He wanted her to remain his little princess a while longer along with Sara.

During all of that time Bella and Edward had established their own production company that was going strong and doing well where she was head of the script department while he did more directing now, unless something special came along that he was passionate about doing then he would take the role to act once more in front of the camera.

The years had been good to them and life was beautiful. Edward felt the tears threatening as he looked at his family seated beside him before he turned his eyes forwards to watch Charles and Carlisle graduate from high school and prepare to join the world as young adults looking to take life by the horns and improve it as each young person has the dream of doing.

THE END

 **A/N: We come to the end of this story and I hope you enjoyed it. I believe that all of the loose ends had been tied up. But, remember that we were taking a walkthrough Edward's memories of things. So, if some things had been left unanswered it's because he wasn't aware of the answers or involved in the incident to be able to have knowledge of the details.**

 **All thoughts and reviews are always welcome. Thanks for reading.**


	19. Chapter 19

**HOW I GOT HERE**

 **Disclaimer: The Cullen's, the Swans, and most of the characters mentioned in the story that are known from Stephanie Meyer's beloved Twilight Saga, are all hers and hers alone. I neither have nor wish to pass them off as mine. I do appreciate the fact that she did bring them to life and allows us to play with them in our imaginations. The only thing I will claim is the current storyline.**

 **The awesome and talented dowlingnana searched out my errors and corrected them.**

CHAPTER 19: AUTHOR NOTES ONLY

How I Got Here has been nominated in the poll to find the Top 10 fics completed in March. I'm excited that my story is being honored and included amongst many other fantastic stories. You can go vote at the URL: www . twifanfictionrecs . com


End file.
